Embassy of India started its last leg of Operation Ganga flights today. Issuing an important advisory, the embassy requested all students staying in their own accommodation to reach Hungary City Centre, Budapest between 10 am-12 pm.
Speaking to ANI, Rajiv Bodwade, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India in Israel deputed on special duty said that teams present at Hungary-Ukraine border are giving them information on how many Indians are crossing border while other teams looking after accommodations and transport.
More than 150 volunteers helping us, he added.
According to Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, 3,000 Indian nationals were evacuated from Budapest till Thursday, another 1,100 citizens on Friday amid the ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine.
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.
As per the MEA, under evacuation mission ‘Operation Ganga’, 63 flights have brought back over 13,300 Indians and out of these 63 flights, 15 flights landed in the last 24 hours bringing back around 2,900 citizens.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that 13 flights are scheduled for the next 24 hours to bring back Indians.
With evacuation process from areas with a high concentration of Indians set to be completed, the MEA will now look at areas where some Indians are still stuck.
On Saturday, the government said that its main focus now is to evacuate around 700 Indian students stranded in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy that has been witnessing bombings and airstrikes.
“Our main focus is now on evacuating Indian students from Sumy. We are exploring multiple options for their evacuation,” said Bagchi.
