Vande Bharat Mission: India evacuates first batch of stranded Kashmir students from Dhaka
New Delhi/IBNS: The first batch of 168 Indian students hailing from Kashmir, who were stranded in Bangladesh amid COVID-19 imposed travel restrictions, arrived in India on Friday.
The flight reportedly landed in Srinagar city of Jammu and Kashmir directly.
The move was a part of India's massive evacuation drive named as ‘Operation Vande Bharat - A homecoming’. It was launched to bring back nationals stranded in different corners of the globe.
@DrSJaishankar Thank you for the encouragement. Happy to note that our students have reached safely. Onwards to our next flight now! @meaindia & @ihcdhaka will continue to propel #VandeBharatMission forward https://t.co/InSni5AVeE
— Riva Ganguly Das (@rivagdas) May 8, 2020
After the landing of the flight, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted: "AI flight 1242 from Dhaka carrying Indian students just landed in Srinagar. Thank @airindiain, @MOCA_GOI, Bureau of Immigration and J&K Government for cooperation and support. Kudos to HC @rivagdas and her Team @ihcdhaka. #VandeBharatMisssion."
In Bangladesh, the stranded Indians will be evacuated in a phased manner with the first phase, starting from 8 May 2020. In the first phase, 7 flights of Air India will carry Indian nationals to Srinagar (8, 12, 13 May), Delhi (9 & 11 May), Mumbai (10 May) Chennai (14 May) in a span of a week with each flight carrying approximately 170 passengers, read an official statement.
High Commissioner Riva Ganguly Das was present at the airport to see-off the first batch of Indians leaving Bangladesh and interacted with them.
Wishing the students a safe journey back home, the High Commissioner reiterated the Indian Government’s commitment to the welfare of its citizens abroad.
The High Commissioner said that she was particularly pleased that the young students would be able to go home before Eid. She advised the students to follow the health protocols after reaching India.
Meanwhile, thanking the Indian government, she tweeted: "@DrSJaishankar Thank you for the encouragement. Happy to note that our students have reached safely. Onwards to our next flight now! @meaindia & @ihcdhaka will continue to propel #VandeBharatMission forward."
What is Vande Bharat Mission:
Vande Bharat Mission is a mammoth logistical exercise for evacuation of Indians abroad, that involves integrated approach, meticulous planning, complex coordination and implementation between Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs and the State governments.
The Ministry of External Affairs has deputed nodal officers for most of the states for the evacuation exercise.
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