Operation Ganga, most challenging evacuation op in Ukraine: Another feather in India's cap
Mar 09, 2022
New Delhi [India], March 9 : Operation Ganga to evacuate Indians from Ukraine amid Russian military operations is another feather in India's cap regarding the most challenging evacuation operations carried out by New Delhi so far.
This comes after more than 18,000 Indians have been safely evacuated back to their home country via special flights over the last week, reported Vietnam times.
Under the central government's 'Operation Ganga', 76 flights were sent to Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova to rescue Indian citizens stuck in Ukraine.
From 'Operation Sukoon' to 'Operation Safe Homecoming' and 'Operation Rahat', India has successfully evacuated its citizens in war zones over the past three decades.
In 1990, the VP Singh government carried out the biggest evacuation of Indians during the Gulf War, with Air India and the Indian Air Force jointly evacuating more than 1.7 lakh stranded citizens, reported Vietnam times.
When the war between Israel and Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, broke out in 2006, 'Operation Sukoon' was carried out to evacuate Indians, Sri Lankans and Nepalese nationals, as well as Lebanese nationals with Indian spouses.
According to media reports, this was one of the largest evacuations conducted by the Indian Navy, wherein 2,280 people, including 1,764 Indians, 112 Sri Lankans, 64 Nepalese and 7 Lebanese nationals with Indian spouses, were rescued from the war zone, reported Vietnam times.
'Operation Safe Homecoming' was launched in 2011 to evacuate Indians from Libya when a civil war broke out to oust the country's then-dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
More than 15,400 Indian nationals were brought back safely in special flights from Libya's Tripoli and Sabha, and Egypt's Alexandria and Malta. Evacuations also took place through the sea with the help of the Indian Navy, reported Vietnam times.
While, 'Operation Rahat' was launched in 2015 to evacuate nearly 4,000 Indians, along with foreign nationals from 26 countries, from war-ravaged Yemen through special flights and Indian Navy vessels.
India's evacuation of its citizens was so successful that the US Embassy advised American nationals to also seek assistance from Indian officials to leave Yemen's capital Sanaa, reported Vietnam times.
