Operation Ganga

By Ameena Ameena - Mar 05 2022

Operation Ganga

What is operation Ganga :

  • Operation Gangais an ongoing operation by the Government of India to provide humanitarian assistance amidst the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine to Indian citizens who have crossed over to neighboring countries.
  • This then involves transport assistance from the neighboring countries of Romania, Hungary, Poland, Moldova, Slovakia to reach India.
  • Operation Ganga is planned by the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Indian Armed Forces. 
  • Airlines including Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Air India Express have also joined the mission.
  • A dedicated Twitter account (@opganga) has been set up to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine through Operation Ganga.
  • Also, Control Centres, which operate 24×7, have been set up throughout the border crossing points with Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia. The evacuation flights are free of cost.

Steps taken :-

  • Four Union ministers are in Ukraine’s neighbouring countries to expedite evacuation. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, is currently in Hungary.
  • Meanwhile, Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, is in Romania.
  • General Vijay Kumar Singh, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, is in Poland.
  • Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of Law and Justice, is in Slovakia, to expedite evacuation through Operation Ganga.

  • Following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the Embassy of India in Kyiv, Ukraine issued an advisory for the students stranded without a place to stay in Kyiv.
  • The Indian Embassy asked the students to not leave their homes unless necessary and carry their documents with them at all times.
  • The first step under Operation Ganga was taken on February 26.
  • 30 flights under Operation Ganga have brought back 6,400 Indians from Ukraine so far, news agency ANI reported.

Indians in Ukraine :

  • India had about 20,000 Indian nationals in Ukraine, out of which just over 18,000 were students.
  • By 4 March, 6400 Indians had been flown to India. About 18,000 had crossed the border of Ukraine.
  • However emergency evacuation has been requested by students still in Ukraine, such as in Pisochyn. Following a “Leave Kharkiv Immediately” embassy advisory on 2 March, the Indian Ministry of Defence released a survival advisory for those still in Ukraine and specifically Kharkiv.
  • India, as a humanitarian signal, has sent relief to Ukraine including medicines and essentials.
  • The Indian government has stated that nationals from neighbouring and developing countries in Ukraine would be provided assistance if sought.

Timeline of the events under Operation Ganga since its launch.

February 26: 

  • The first batch of Indian students who were stranded in Ukraine arrived at Mumbai airport in the evening of February 26.
  • An Air India flight brought the Indians from Bucharest, Romania, to Mumbai.
  • According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the first batch comprised 219 Indian nationals.
  • The second evacuation flight from Bucharest arrived at Indira Gandhi international Airport, New Delhi, with almost 250 Indian students.
  • The students reached Delhi Airport early morning, from Bucharest, on an Air India flight, at 3 am IST.

February 27: 

  • The third flight under Operation Ganga, with 240 Indian nationals, took off from Budapest, Hungary, early morning on February 27.
  • The fourth flight under the operation brought 198 Indian nationals from Bucharest to Delhi.

February 28:

  • The fifth evacuation flight under Operation Ganga, carrying 249 Indian nationals from Bucharest, reached Delhi on February 28.
  • On the same day, the sixth evacuation flight under the mission brought 240 Indian nationals from Budapest to Delhi.
  • As many as 182 Indian nationals started their return journey from Bucharest to Mumbai, the same day. This was the seventh flight under Operation Ganga.

March 1: 

  • The eighth flight under Operation Ganga brought 216 Indian nationals from Budapest to New Delhi.
  • On the same day, the ninth evacuation flight carrying 218 Indian nationals from Bucharest reached New Delhi.

March 2:

  • IAF deployed four C-17 aircraft to supply relief material and evacuate Indian nationals using airfields in Romania, Poland, and Hungary, as part of the ongoing Operation Ganga.

March 3:

  • The IAF’s first evacuation flight with 200 Indians landed in Delhi earlier in the day.
  • The aircraft carried 200 passengers, mostly students.
  • The first four IAF C-17 aircraft under Operation Ganga evacuated 798 Indian nationals using airfields in Romania, Hungary and Poland.
  • They also supplied 9.7 tonnes of relief material. 

What Is Next For Operation Ganga?

  • The Indian government has roped in more than two dozen Ministers to monitor smooth evacuation and receive Indians who are returning from Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Poland, under Operation Ganga.
  • The government has accelerated the evacuation plan for Indians stranded in Ukraine, by increasing the number of flights to bring back more Indian nationals, under Operation Ganga.
  • By March 10, a total of 80 flights will be pressed into service, to evacuate Indians from the neighbouring countries of Ukraine.  
  • These flights will be provided by Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Vistara, and Go Air.
  • The IAF will also provide its aircraft.
  • As many as 35 evacuations have been planned from Bucharest, Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, and Vistara will provide fourteen, eight, seven, and three flights respectively, to carry out the evacuations. SpiceJet will provide one flight. The IAF will provide two aircraft to evacuate Indians from Bucharest, the capital of Romania.
  • Approximately 17,000 stranded Indians will be evacuated from Ukraine via the flights scheduled to take off from Budapest, Bucharest, Rzeszow, Suceava, and Kosice.

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