Operation Ganga was one of the most challenging evacuation exercises during an ongoing conflict situation, said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, while addressing the Rajya Sabha on 'The situation in Ukraine' on Tuesday. "Our community was dispersed across Ukraine, posing its own logistical challenges. The exercise was undertaken at a time when military actions, including air strikes and shelling, were underway. It involved movement in a war-torn situation in a large country, at times over a 1000 km. And it required exiting border check points that were clogged by an estimated 26 lakh refugees," the minister elaborated.
He said despite these challenges, India evacuated 22,500 persons, including 147 nationals from 18 other countries.
Jaishankar attributed the success of the operation to the ‘whole of government’ approach, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself chairing review meetings, almost on a daily basis. While the Ministry of External Affairs was the nodal agency, it got excellent support from all other ministries and organisations concerned, including the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Defence, the National Disaster Response Force, the Indian Air Force and private airlines as well as state governments.
Jaishankar said that as tensions between Ukranie and Russia began rising in January, the Indian embassy in Kiev began a registration drive of Indian nationals. Of the nearly 20,000 persons registered, most were medical students. Many of these students were in universities on the eastern side of Ukraine, near the Russian border, where hostilities were the worst.
These students hailed from 35 states and UTs with more than 1,000 students each from Kerala, UP, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar and Rajasthan. The embassy issued an advisory on February 15 asking them to leave the country temporarily. Air-bubble restrictions then in force were immediately lifted in consultation with Ukrainian side to increase the number of direct flights. As a result, around 4,000 Indian nationals departed from Ukraine by direct and indirect flights till February 23, 2022.
However, a large majority of students stayed back. “We must understand their predicament in this regard. There was a natural reluctance to leave educational institutions and affect their studies. Some universities actively discouraged and showed reluctance to offer on-line courses. Many of them received conflicting advice regarding safety. The challenges of travelling back may have also been a factor. In the period leading to February 24, the political signals were confusing as well. Public urging not to be taken in by alarmism and reports of force withdrawals created a confusing picture. The net result was that about 18,000 Indian citizens were caught in the midst of conflict when it began," said the minister.
On February 24, Operation Ganga was launched. The ministry started reinforcing the strength of our mission in Ukraine in anticipation of a difficult situation. Additional Russian-speaking officers were deputed to Kyiv on February 22, and a helpline was set up, too. The Situation Room was ramped up to over a hundred personnel, allowing them to respond to over 13,000 calls and 9,000 emails till date.
Jaishankar said that the strategy for evacuation was to take out Indian nationals from the western neighboring countries of Ukraine that were Poland, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. It required detailed logistic planning, including setting up of transit camps across the border.
He commended the additional staff sent from India, which was deployed along with embassy personnel. "These officials have gone to extraordinary lengths in difficult circumstances to ensure that Operation Ganga was successful. Their constant intervention at border check-points helped to address the severe challenges posed by over-congestion. Their liaison with local governments and community organizations was responsible for the boarding, lodging and medical attention of evacuees. And, of course, they handled the complexity of flight operations on the ground so that the return home was a smoother process," he said.
Evacuating students from Sumy and Kharkiv were the most challenging parts of the exercise. Both places witnessed heavy shelling and air strikes. "Many options were worked out to evacuate students through buses and trains. A team from our Embassy in Moscow had also been sent to the Russia-Ukraine border to facilitate the possible evacuation of Indian students through Belgorod and Kursk. Many students from Kharkiv were moved to Pesochin in view of anticipated escalation of hostilities. While our efforts were able to stave off some of the more extreme scenarios, their presence in a safety zone allowed for subsequent ferrying through buses to the western borders," he said.
"The Sumy evacuation, which was the last one on a significant scale, was also extremely complex as our students faced the prospect of being caught in crossfire. Their evacuation from the city needed a credible ceasefire, a daunting challenge in the current situation. This finally materialised due to the personal intervention of the prime minister himself with the presidents of Ukraine and Russia." Noting the extraordinary challenges before us, we also dispatched a special team of senior officers to the vicinity of Sumy. Their coordination with the military forces deployed there, with the ICRC and the arrangement of logistics was responsible for the final outcome.
Under Operation Ganga, 90 flights were operated—76 were civilian flights and 14 were Indian Air-force flights. The evacuation flights were from Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. "While Indian Air-Force rose to the occasion, most of the private air-lines, including Air India, Air India Express, Indigo, Spice Jet, Vistara, Go-Air and Air Asia, also participated."
"During this period, the prime minister himself spoke to the presidents of Russia and Ukraine on multiple occasions. He specifically took up the issue of safe evacuation of Indian nationals, especially from Kharkiv and Sumy. The prime minister also spoke to the prime ministers of Romania, Slovak Republic and Hungary and the president of Poland to seek their support for facilitation of entry of Indian nationals to their countries,"Jaishankar said.
He added that Modi deputed four Union ministers as Special Envoys to Romania, Hungary, Slovak Republic and Poland to facilitate Operation Ganga—Jyotiraditya Scindia to Romania, Kiren Rijiju to Slovak Republic, Hardeep Singh Puri to Hungary and Gen (Retd.) V.K. Singh to Poland.
The minister said that India sent relief material to Ukraine and neighbouring countries to help with the rising humanitarian crisis. A total of 90 tons of relief material comprising medicines, tents, blankets, sleeping mats, tarpaulin, surgical gloves, and eye goggles have been provided.
He said that the government was working at getting back the body Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagaudar, a final year medical student of Kharkiv Medical University who succumbed to injuries received when he had gone to fetch groceries from a shop.
Harjot Singh, another student, suffered bullet injuries on his way out from Kyiv. "His medical expenses were taken care of and arrangements made for his movement from Kyiv to the Polish border. He was brought back in an IAF flight to India accompanied by a doctor arranged by our Mission in Poland," the minister said.
The minister notified that the Ukraine conflict has major economic implications. Its impact on energy and commodity prices is already visible. The disruption of global supply chain is expected to be significant. India has substantial dealings with both Russia and Ukraine. He said the Centre was assessing the impact of the conflict on India. The development however only emphasised the need for an Atmanirbhar Bharat, he said.
Jaishankar also elaborated on India's position on unfolding developments. "India’s position on the Ukraine conflict has been steadfast and consistent. We have expressed deep concern at the worsening situation and called for immediate cessation of violence and end to all hostilities. Our statements at the Security Council and the General Assembly have urged an urgent ceasefire and ensuring safe passage for stranded civilians. We have also highlighted the humanitarian assistance extended by India to Ukraine and its neighbours at this hour of crisis," he said.
