Thirty-eight residents of Gujarat, who are among hundreds of Indians stranded in violence-hit Sudan, will be brought back to the country under the Centre's 'Operation Kaveri', and a special flight carrying them will land in Mumbai post-midnight, officials said on Wednesday.
On their arrival at the Mumbai airport, the Gujarat government will provide transportation arrangements to bring these 38 Gujarat citizens back home, Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, who also handles the Non-Resident Gujarati (NRG) Division of the state government, said.
Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group for the last 12 days that has reportedly left around 400 people dead. India has stepped up its efforts to evacuate Indians from the crisis-hit north-east African country.
"As part of the Centre's ongoing Operation Kaveri to evacuate Indians from Sudan, 38 stranded Gujaratis will land at Mumbai at midnight. After their arrival, the state government will make necessary arrangements to bring them to Gujarat," minister Sanghavi told reporters in Gandhinagar.
According to officials, there are no specific details available at this juncture about the exact number of Gujaratis stranded in Sudan.
Under the Centre's Operation Kaveri, stranded Indians are first taken to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia from Sudan through a sea route and then they will be flown here in special flights, said V G Rore, director, Gujarat State Non-Resident Gujaratis' Foundation under the NRG Division of the state government.
"As of now, we are informed that a special flight carrying Indians, including 38 Gujaratis, will leave from Jeddah tonight and land at Mumbai during midnight. We will then make arrangements to bring them here," Rore said.
On Sunday, India said it positioned two transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Jeddah and the naval ship INS Sumedha at Port Sudan as part of its contingency plans to evacuate the stranded Indians. Before that, the government said it was focusing on the safety of over 3,000 Indian citizens spread across the African nation.
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