The Ministry of External Affairs had deployed more than 50 of its Russian speaking officials to execute Operation Ganga in Ukraine. A special team led by a joint secretary to take on-ground decisions vis-a-vis evacuation inside war-torn Ukraine also flew from New Delhi.
Nearly 22,000 Indians, mainly students, have already been evacuated including from the most active dangerous zones like Kharkiv and Sumy in Ukraine.
When the war broke out, idea was to strengthen the embassy in Kyiv. The first additional MEA team reached Ukraine on February 22. After that, it was a real challenge to flow in personnel, said an official familiar with the developments.
He described Operation Ganga as a rare evacuation from the active conflict zone. A 24/7 war room with almost 100 staff members was also activated.
The biggest unsung heroes of this evacuation process were student contractors, the official told ANI, adding that these contractors played a key role in coordination between students and the embassy. Where officials could not arrange and reach out, these contractors chipped in and helped.
Students had complained and expressed their concern on social media that embassy staff was not seen. The official said at most places these student contractors worked for the embassy. Interestingly, officials of the embassy also used local contacts to block seats on trains leaving for border areas.
Mobilizing transport was one of the biggest challenges and with the collapse of financial infrastructure, arranging money was a daunting task. All transactions were taking place in cash, the official said, adding that they took help from local volunteers and civil society groups. Shelters were erected in border areas of Ukraine and Air Force was pressed in the evacuation efforts.
There were reports and several posts by students on social media that Indians were targeted by Ukrainian forces and authorities. The official said there are no formal complaints of targetted attacks. However, due to huge crowds on checkpoints, there may be "a situation and instances but Indian were not targeted," he added
Special envoys also played an instrumental role in dealing with local governments and administration. Continued efforts at the highest level also played a key role in the success of Operation Ganga.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla were constantly engaged with all stakeholders.
Russia launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities.
( With inputs from ANI )
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