30 flights operated, about 6,400 people brought back under 'Operation Ganga': MEA
New Delhi(PTI): A total of 30 flights have been operated and around 6,400 people brought back under Operation Ganga that was launched to evacuate Indian nationals in Ukraine, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the number of Indians who have left Ukraine since advisories were issued was nearly 18,000.
"The pace of Operation Ganga continues to accelerate. During the last 24 hours, 15 flights landed in India, bringing back more than 3,000 Indians," he said at a media briefing here.
"With this, it takes the total number of flights under operation Ganga to 30. So, we have brought back around 6,400 Indian citizens," Bagchi said this evening.
During the next 24 hours, 18 flights have been scheduled, of these three would be C-17 Indian Air Force flights and the other flights are commercial, he said.
In terms of the departure points from Europe, there will be seven flights from Bucharest (Romania), five from Budapest (Hungary), three from Rzeszow (Poland) and one from Ko ice (Slovakia), Bagchi said.
A new location has been identified near the Romanian border in the city of Suceava (Romania) from where two flights will be operated in the next 24 hours, he said, adding that this would make it easier for Indians and save them from undertaking the long drive to Bucharest.
Bagchi said that the increased number of flights reflects the large number of Indians who have crossed over from Ukraine and are now in the neighbouring countries.
"We will further step up efforts to bring all these Indians, who are now in safety, back to India at the earliest...We hope that over the next two-three days, a large number of these people will be back home. Till they are brought home, after having crossed the Ukrainian border, our embassies in cooperation with the host governments and local partners are providing food and accommodation to them," he said.
"So, I would like to take this opportunity to appreciate the Ukranian government for facilitating the evacuation of Indian nationals despite their own challenges. I would also like to thank Ukraine's neighbours for taking extra effort and hosting our people and all the support," the MEA spokesperson said.
India has been evacuating its citizens through special flights from Ukraine's western neighbours such as Romania, Hungary and Poland as the Ukrainian airspace has been shut since February 24 due to the Russian military offensive.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
