Mumbai: It was a happy moment for the families of 246 Indians who landed by the special Indian Air Force’s C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift aircraft at Mumbai airport on Wednesday night from strife-torn Sudan. Nearly 3,000-odd Indians were stranded in the violence-ravaged country where fierce fighting is underway between the army and a paramilitary group.
They were evacuated to Mumbai as part of ‘Operation Kaveri’ launched by the Central government. Amidst chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, the tired passengers heaved a sigh of relief and profusely thanked the Indian government for prompt response.
Operation Kaveri
Officials from the Ministry of External Affairs and the governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat were at hand to receive the evacuees.
Among those who returned was Mohit Aggarwal, 50, who had gone to Khartoum for his textile business. A resident of Worli, he was welcomed by his family and friends with the beating of dhols. According to reports, Aggarwal had hitchhiked in a media vehicle from his hotel to the pickup point organised by the Indian embassy in Khartoum. He joined other evacuees and travelled to Jeddah port by ship and later on his own took a separate flight to Mumbai via Dubai. He was the first to land to a warm welcome from family and friends.
Flight Lieutenant Har Raj Kaur Boparai, Indian Air Force’s first and only woman pilot of the heavy lift aircraft took part in the operation. The huge aircraft, which is the largest aircraft asset of the IAF, took off from the Hindon air base in Ghaziabad, flew to Jeddah and safely evacuated the stuck Indians.
“Flt Lt Boparai is the first and only woman officer of the IAF who has flown the C-17. She is the only woman officer in the aircraft’s squadron,” said a source. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar shared images of the evacuees after they landed in Mumbai. “Another #OperationKaveri flight comes to Mumbai. 246 more Indians come back to the motherland,” he tweeted.
