Around 30 students hailing from Karnataka safely evacuated from Ukraine: Govt
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Sunday said around 30 students hailing from the state have been safely evacuated from war-torn Ukraine.
According to the data available with the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), based on the submissions it has received so far, about 397 people were stranded in Ukraine with 129 among them from Bengaluru.
"The Embassy of India, Kyiv, has started evacuation of stranded Indian nationals from Ukraine. The evacuation flights operating under Operation Ganga have started evacuating stranded Indian citizens in Ukraine through bordering countries, ie., Romania, Budapest, Bucharest, etc. Around 30 students hailing from Karnataka have been safely evacuated," Nodal Officer and Commissioner of KSDMA Manoj Rajan said in a statement.
The first batch of 12 students reached Bengaluru International Airport from Mumbai at 8.40 am today.
Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi, state Revenue Minister R Ashoka and nodal officer Rajan received the arriving students at the airport here.
According to the statement, the second batch of 13 students, and a third batch of five students hailing from the state have reached Delhi and will reach Bengaluru later tonight, it said. They have been accommodated in Karnataka Bhavan.
"Overall, 30 students will reach Bengaluru today," the statement added.
Expressing joy over her safe return, a woman student said: "They have brought us safely - Indian government, Indian Embassy, Karnataka government. They arranged flight tickets for us. Hope other students stranded in Ukraine too return safely. Though there was fear, the Embassy assured us a safe return."
Another student said, "We were evacuated through Romania border, as we were in western part of Ukraine, but don't know how authorities will evacuate those stranded in other parts like Kyiv."
Expressing worry about friends back in places like Kyiv and Kharkiv, another student said, "They are actually in crisis as they hear bombing very often and are taking shelter in bunkers. Most of them are short of basic things like food and water."
Noting that authorities are facilitating the travel of students hailing from Karnataka to their respective destinations, the statement said the local tickets from Delhi and Mumbai to Bengaluru will be borne by the state government.
The Nodal Officer and his team are in constant touch with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to evacuate the remaining stranded students from Ukraine, it said.
The state government has opened a facilitation centre at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, to coordinate and support stranded students hailing from Karnataka, who are arriving there.
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Suspected drones observed along IB in Jammu's Samba, being engaged: Army
Jammu, May 12 (PTI): Security forces are engaging suspected drones observed along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu region on Monday, an Army said.
This fresh incident of drone activity along the borderline comes barely hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first address to the nation following Operation Sindoor and the meeting of the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.
The Army, however, said there is no need to be alarmed.
“A small number of suspected drones have been observed near Samba in J&K. They are being engaged,” it said.
In the backdrop of the situation, several areas witnessed blackouts in Samba, Kathua, Rajouri, and Jammu.
Lights were switched off at the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi and along its track as a precautionary measure, sources said.
On Monday, talks between the DGMOs were held during which issues related to the continuing commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive or inimical action against each other were discussed, the Indian Army said.
It was also agreed that both sides would consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction along the borders and in forward areas, it added.
The situation remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, with no incidents of ceasefire violation reported along the Indo-Pak border Sunday overnight — marking the first calm night after 18 days of hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 people — mostly tourists — dead.
India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to cease all firing and military actions on land, air, and sea with immediate effect, following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes that brought the two countries to the brink of full-scale war.
Eighteen days of intense hostilities following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war, ended with a ceasefire that restored calm along the Line of Control, the International Border, and the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir. The Army thwarted Pakistan’s Hamas-style kamikaze drone attacks during the escalation.
Since the night of April 24, hours after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, Pakistani troops repeatedly targeted Indian positions along the LoC — beginning in the Kashmir Valley and quickly expanding to the Jammu region.
The latest hostilities began in the northern districts of Kupwara and Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley, before spreading southwards to Rajouri, Poonch, Akhnoor, and the Pargwal sector along the International Border in Jammu district. The firing affected five border districts — Baramulla, Kupwara, Poonch, Rajouri, and Jammu.
The recent round of cross-border firing further undermined the ceasefire agreement reached in February 2021, which has largely been seen as ineffective due to Pakistan’s frequent violations along the 740-km-long LoC.
The April 22 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 people — mostly tourists — in Pahalgam’s Baisaran valley, triggered a strong response from the central government.
The India-Pakistan border stretches over 3,300 kilometers, divided into three segments: the International Border (IB), spanning about 2,400 km from Gujarat to Akhnoor in Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir; and the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL), which separates the Siachen Glacier region.
WATCH: OP Sindoor continues. Minutes after PM Speech.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) May 12, 2025
A small numbers of suspected drones being observed near Samba in J&K. Being engaged . pic.twitter.com/jmGmRkmQ26
