Operation Ganga: 3,000 Indian nationals evacuated from Hungary till yesterday, another 1,100 to leave today: Hardeep Singh Puri

Mar 04,2022

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said that 3,000 Indian nationals have been evacuated from Budapest till Thursday and another 1,100 citizens are expected to leave on Friday amid the ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine.

Speaking to ANI Puri said, “From Budapest, 3000 people have been evacuated till yesterday, another 1,100 expected to leave today.”

He added, “We’ve asked for seven more flights, which will make it another 1,400 people being evacuated tomorrow.”

Hardeep Singh Puri reached Budapest on Tuesday to facilitate the evacuation of Indian citizens stranded in crisis-stricken Ukraine.

According to Puri, with ‘relative ease’ in the crossing across the Hungarian border, a lot of people who were on the other borders where there were a lot of difficulties like queues, shifted to the Hungary-Zahony border.

“Yesterday night we got another 1700 students coming into Budapest and we had arrangements for only 1200. That put a little strain,” said Puri.

He said he spoke to the Hungarian foreign minister who made a dormitory available for 800 students.

The Union Minister said, “The volunteers, temples, civil society are all chipping in. So, the kids, although they have had a difficult time, are well fed and looked after well. One by one we will put them on flights.”

Puri lauded the volunteers’ efforts who are providing essentials to the people at the border. He said, “It’s heartwarming to see young professionals take leave of absence from their job and devote full time to helping our young students in need.”

Speaking on the Indian government’s efforts in evacuation, Puri said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself is personally monitoring the evacuation process.

“I don’t think there is ever been a parallel to what the Government of India has done in this evacuation. In this case, taking out people from the war zone, flying them to the neighbouring countries and the GoI assuming responsibility to bring these children home. The Prime Minister himself is personally monitoring this evacuation,” said the Union Minister.

The government has deployed ‘special envoys’ to four neighbouring countries bordering Ukraine to coordinate and oversee the evacuation process of Indian nationals.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri will oversee evacuation efforts in Hungary, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in Slovakia, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in Romania while Gen VK Singh in Poland. The Indian government has launched Operation Ganga for the return of Indians from Ukraine amid military operations by Russia.

Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk -as independent entities. Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia’s military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow.

These countries have also promised Ukraine to help with military aid to fight Russia. The US, Canada and European allies agreed to remove key Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT which means Russian banks won’t be able to communicate securely with banks beyond Russia’s borders. President Putin has also signed a decree on special economic measures against the US and its allies.