Sher Bahadur Deuba, Nepal’s Prime Minister, thanked the Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday for assisting in the repatriation of stranded Nepali people from Ukraine during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“Four Nepalese nationals have recently arrived in Nepal via India. Sher Bahadur Deuba tweeted on March 12: “Thank you Prime Minister Modi and the Government of India for your cooperation in repatriating Nepali nationals through Operation Ganga.”

As per sources, on March 3, the Nepali government requested the Indian government’s assistance in reuniting its stranded nationals via Operation Ganga. As soon as India agreed to the request, it evacuated four Nepalese students and sent them to India via Poland. Following that, the pupils were securely transported to Nepal on a chartered flight.

During the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Indian Embassy in Ukraine relocated more than 600 Indian citizens stuck in the strife-torn city of Sumy to a safer place. Students from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal were among those rescued, in addition to Indian nationals. Humanitarian corridors in Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Maripol were used to transport them back to India.

The civilian gateway in Sumy was only disclosed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia to arrange for a safe escape for Indian nationals trapped in Sumy. Bangladesh’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, also expressed gratitude to India for evacuating nine of her country’s residents from Ukraine.

It’s worth noting that India has always been willing to assist its neighbours in times of crisis. At a UNSC meeting on February 28, India’s representative to the UN, TS Tirumurti, indicated that his country was willing to assist individuals from neighbouring and developing countries. “We are willing to assist anyone from our neighbouring countries and developing countries who are stranded in Ukraine and may request aid.” “All UN humanitarian initiatives are also supported by us,” Tirumurti stated.

During the COVID issue, India aided the Maldives, Nepal, and Bangladesh in regaining control of their citizens held by China. Also, when the Taliban took control of Afghanistan by force recently, India helped Nepali nationals flee the country.

Ganga Operation

On March 10, Operation Ganga, which began on February 26 to evacuate over 20,000 Indian nationals trapped in Ukraine due to the fighting, came to an end. On Thursday, the mission’s final flight returned roughly 8000 stranded Ukrainian nationals. A total of 18,000 Indian citizens have been evacuated as part of the mission.

Several chartered flights from Poland, Romania, and Hungary were used to transport the students back to their homes. Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, and SpiceJet had also joined the mission, flying to Delhi and Mumbai from Ukraine’s surrounding countries.

Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia had previously stated that the Indian government had been working around the clock to guarantee that all Indians could safely exit Ukraine. “In Ukraine, there were about 19760 children.” Approximately 4800 youngsters had already fled through the alerts before the violence began out,” he had stated.

It is worth noting that the Ukrainian airspace has been closed to civilian aircraft since the start of the Russian-Ukraine conflict. As a result, the Indian embassy in Ukraine had to work closely with the embassies of neighbouring nations in Poland, Romania, and Hungary to establish safe evacuation routes. Indians were first transported in stages from Ukraine to surrounding countries via buses/commute organised by the embassy under ‘Operation Ganga.’ Following that, they were flown to Delhi or Mumbai on chartered Air India flights.

The Indian government dispatched four Union Ministers to Hungary, Romania and Moldova, Slovakia, and Poland to coordinate Operation Ganga: Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju, and General (Retd) VK Singh.