UP govt opens help desk as India evacuates citizens from Sudan

New Delhi [India], April 26 : As "Operation Kaveri" is underway, the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday opened a help desk at the resident commissioner's office in Delhi for people stranded in Sudan, a senior official said in Lucknow.

"Those coming from Sudan can contact Neeraj Singh, assistant review officer on 8920808414 or Ashish Kumar, protocol assistant on 9313434088 or Whatsapp them about their problems," an order issued by Additional Resident Commissioner, New Delhi, Saumya Srivastava said.

Amid the 72-hour ceasefire agreed upon between Sudan's army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), countries including India are leaving no stone unturned to evacuate citizens.

The total number of Indians evacuated so far from Sudan stands at around 530, according to official data.

In the recent batch, 360 Indians left Jeddah Airport on a flight bound for New Delhi and will soon be reunited with their families, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said on Wednesday.

Operation Kaveri is a rescue operation launched by the central government to evacuate stranded Indian citizens from Sudan.

"Happy to see off 360 Indians at Jeddah Airport in a flight bound for New Delhi They will be reaching the motherland soon, reuniting with their families Under #OperationKaveri the Government is working relentlessly to evacuate Indian nationals from Sudan & bring them home safely," MoS Muraleedharan tweeted.

India has deployed its military planes and warships to rescue Indians from there.

The evacuation operation started in Port Sudan. The Indian Air Force C-17 transport aircraft is scheduled to leave for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to bring back Indian citizens stranded in Sudan to their homes, according to government sources.

As per the government sources, the aircraft is planned to leave in the evening from Ghaziabad's Hindon air base and return with Indians from Jeddah tomorrow morning to Mumbai.

The government sources also stated that the INS Teg is stationed at Port Sudan to bring back Indians from there to Jeddah.

Earlier, the INS Sumedha has already disembarked 278 Indians from there to Jeddah.

INS Tarkash is in the vicinity to take part in the operations there, according to Government sources.

Now, private carriers in India are also showing their willingness to operate charter flights from India to Jeddah for evacuation. India's low-cost carrier Indigo has offered its services to the government regarding evacuation under Operation Kaveri.

Previously, France Embassy in India informed that their country has evacuated some Indians along with citizens of 27 other countries as part of its evacuation mission from violence-hit Sudan.

Earlier, on Saturday, Saudi Arabia said it has evacuated 66 citizens of "brotherly and friendly" foreign countries that included a few Indian nationals from the conflict-hit nation.

The evacuation came days after Jaishankar spoke to his Saudi Arabia counterpart. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Sudan.