IAF bolsters humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka, evacuates stranded Indians in two transport aircraft
New Delhi (PTI): The Indian Air Force on Sunday intensified its efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka under Operation Sagar Bandhu, while bringing back more than 400 stranded Indians from Colombo in two transport aircraft.
A C-130J aircraft carrying a group of Indians landed at Hindan in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad, while an IL-76 aircraft landed at Trivandrum in Kerala on Sunday, a senior official said.
Bolstering its efforts to provide humanitarian aid in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah, which has left a trail of destruction in the island nation, the Indian Air Force (IAF), in close coordination with Sri Lankan authorities, executed major rescue and evacuation missions in the landslide-hit Kotmale region, which remains completely isolated due to road disruptions.
The IAF helicopters evacuated 45 stranded individuals, including six critical cases and four infants, and transported them safely to Colombo, officials said. Among those rescued were 12 Indians and a large group of foreign nationals from multiple countries, alongside Sri Lankan citizens, they said.
To strengthen relief operations on the ground, the IAF also airlifted 57 Sri Lankan Army personnel into the affected zone to support the ongoing rescue and clearance efforts, the IAF said. Earlier in the day, the IAF said it had positioned Mi-17 V5 helicopters in Colombo for swift relief operations.
Till 8 pm, more than 400 stranded Indian nationals were evacuated from Colombo in two transport aircraft and brought back to the country, the senior official said.
Another C-130J aircraft is in Colombo, with a plan to evacuate another group of more than 100 Indians back to the country, the official added.
As part of Operation Sagar Bandhu, the IAF has inducted ‘BHISHM’ capsule, a modular mini-hospital developed by India for emergency and disaster relief, along with a medical team.
“Another @IAF_MCC C130J carrying approx 10 tonnes of disaster response supplies, BHISHM Cubes and a medical team for on-site training and support has landed in Colombo,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar posted on X on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, a C-130J aircraft carrying equipment meant for a National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) team, already deployed as part of Operation Sagar Bandhu, landed in Colombo, the senior official said.
The transport aircraft will now be used to bring back Indian citizens.
The IAF also shared an update related to the ongoing operation on its X handle on Sunday.
"#OperationSagarBandhu | IAF Humanitarian Assistance… As part of India’s ongoing relief efforts in Sri Lanka, the Indian Air Force has positioned Mi-17 V5 helicopters in Colombo for swift HADR operations," it said.
On Saturday, two IAF transport aircraft – C-130J and IL-76 – delivered nearly 21 tonnes of relief material to Colombo.
The IL-76 aircraft, carrying nine tonnes of relief material, 80 NDRF personnel, four canines, and eight tonnes of NDRF HADR (humanitarian assistance and disaster relief) equipment, landed in Colombo on Saturday morning.
According to an update issued on Saturday by the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) in Colombo, the death toll in Sri Lanka stood at 132, with 176 missing over the preceding four days as Cyclone Ditwah battered the island nation.
More than 43,900 people from 12,313 families have been hit by the extreme weather conditions, according to the Sri Lankan authorities. Under Operation Sagar Bandhu, the first tranche of relief material was handed out after the consignments were transported by the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and frontline ship INS Udaigiri.
In an X post on Sunday, the IAF said it is simultaneously undertaking domestic support operations in the wake of the cyclone. "#CycloneDitwah | Ongoing Ops… Even as relief efforts continue in #SriLanka, the Indian Air Force has simultaneously pressed into domestic support operations.
“An IAF C-17 has airlifted NDRF teams and equipment from Pune and Vadodara to Chennai, enabling rapid deployment of over 300 NDRF personnel and around 35 tonnes of essential gear.”
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Karnataka: Indigo disruption forces newlyweds to attend reception online
Hubballi (Karnataka) (PTI): The venue was all decked up and a delicious spread ready for the invitees. But Megha Ksheerasagar and Sangam Das could not be present for their own wedding reception, thanks to the national flight disruptions that has sent many passengers across the country into a tizzy.
The newlyweds' reception was fixed here on December 3, but the couple was forced to attend their grand event only via video conference due to the disruptions in top carrier Indigo's operations, mainly due to crew woes.
Not meaning to miss the important day, the couple appeared on a large screen at the venue through video conferencing from Bhubaneswar, greeted the guests and apologised for not being personally present.
Instead, the bride's parents graced the occasion at the scheduled reception venue--Gujarat Bhavan, here, on behalf of the couple that had tied the knot on November 23 in Odisha's Bhubaneswar.
According to the family, the couple, both software engineers, work in Bengaluru. The reception was arranged at the bride's native place in Hubballi on Wednesday.
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To be part of their special day, the couple had booked tickets on the Bhubaneswar-Bengaluru-Hubballi route for December 2. Some relatives had booked tickets on the Bhubaneswar-Mumbai-Hubballi route. However, due to operational disruptions, IndiGo flights were continuously delayed from 9 am on December 2 until early morning on December 3, and were eventually cancelled.
"My daughter's wedding happened on November 23 and we had organised a reception at our native place in Hubballi for people here. The flight kept getting delayed and at the last moment, at around 4 am, it got cancelled. Now what could we do after that. We had to come up with some solution. Then I decided to do the reception online. I immediately arranged for a screen and asked my daughter and son-in-law to join the reception online," the bride's father Anil Kumar Ksheerasagar told PTI Videos.
He urged the central government to take corrective measures so that public, being the tax payers, don't suffer.
"What the problem with IndiGo is, we don't know. My daughter and son-in-law were supposed to come via an IndiGo flight but that got cancelled. IndiGo alone can't be blamed. The government must understand that it is in case of emergencies that people prefer flights. Some measures need to be taken to resolve this issue. When the PM's flight gets cancelled, he is taken by helicopter. Why is the same not done for us, the common people. We also have emergencies, don't we. The government must think of this, and if they ignore public woes, they should remember that we are also VIPs because we pay tax."
Relatives had come for the reception from across the country--Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bagalkote, Davangere and Belagavi.
"I didn't know what to do as relatives and guests had come from so many places. I was stressed, but then I quickly decided to do it online," Ksheerasagar said.
As the couple could not travel to Hubballi, the bride's parents sat in place of the newly-weds at the reception venue and conducted the rituals, while the bride and groom, dressed up in Bhubaneswar, attended their grand reception online.
