new Delhi: India has evacuated “about 15,920” of its men on board 76 aircraft as part of the ‘Operation Ganga’ rescue effort launched in response to Russia’s armed crackdown on Ukraine, officials said on Sunday.
According to the Indian Embassy in Hungary, the evacuation mission from the country is nearing completion as the final phase of flights under the operation has begun, news agency PTI reported.
After entering these countries through Ukraine through land border transit points, India has started withdrawing its people from Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova. On 26 February, the first flight from Bucharest returned with the stranded Indians.
After Russia launched military action, Ukraine limited its airspace to commercial aircraft.
According to officials, around 2,500 Indians were evacuated in 13 planes in the last 24 hours.
According to officials, seven planes of stranded Indians from Hungary, Romania and Poland are expected to return during the next 24 hours.
There will be five flights from Budapest, one from Razzo, Poland and one from Suceava, Romania.
“Under Operation Ganga, so far 76 flights have brought back more than 15,920 Indians to India. Out of these 76 flights, 13 have landed in the last 24 hours,” an official was quoted as saying by PTI in its report.
The Indian Embassy in Hungary issued an “urgent message” on Twitter, requesting that Indian students remaining in the country report at designated contact points for repatriation to India.
“Important Announcement: Embassy of India commenced its final phase of Operation Ganga Udans today. All students residing in their own accommodation (other than those arranged by the Embassy) are requested to visit @Hungariacitycentre, Rakoczi Ut 90, Budapest at 10 am Arrive between noon to 12 noon,” it said.
Important Announcement: The Embassy of India today commenced its final phase of Operation Ganga Udan. All students residing in their own accommodation (other than those arranged by the Embassy) are requested to arrive at @Hungariacitycentre, Rakoczi Ut 90, Budapest between 10 AM to 12 PM.
— Embassy of India in Hungary (@IndiaInHungary) 6 March 2022
Separately, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine has encouraged all Indian nationals who are still in the conflict-torn country to fill up an online form at the earliest.
The Google form requests name, email, phone number, current residence, passport information, gender and age.
The embassy also sought information about the present whereabouts of Indians stranded in Ukraine.
In the form, a list of places is provided, an opportunity to choose a location from the list is provided.
Cities named in the online form include Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnitsky, Kirovograd, Kyiv, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolaiv and Odessa.
Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnitsa, Volyn, Zakarpattya, Zaporozhye and Zhytomyr were also on the list.
According to officials, more than 21,000 Indians have fled Ukraine since the advisory was issued weeks before the violence broke out.
They claim that 199220 Indians have already come to India.
Six consignments of humanitarian supplies have already been sent to Ukraine, and another six-tonne tranche was delivered to Poland by an IAF jet on Sunday.
According to officials, the MEA control rooms, as well as the control centers run by Indian embassies, are still open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
According to officials, the control room of the Ministry of External Affairs has handled 12435 phone calls and 9026 e-mails till Sunday afternoon.
(with PTI inputs)