The central government on April 24 launched ‘Operation Kaveri’ to evacuate close to 3,000 Indian citizens stranded in Sudan.
- The situation has been volatile in Khartoum with fierce fighting between the country’s army and a paramilitary force being reported at various locations over the past 11 days
- A patrol vessel of the Indian Navy, the INS Sumedha, is already waiting at Port Sudan and is likely to ferry the citizens to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
- Two C-130J transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) are also on standby in Jeddah to fly them to India.
- Port Sudan is about 850 km away from Sudan’s capital city Khartoum. . The Kaveri is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The river is sacred to the people of the region and is worshipped as the Goddess Kaveriamma (mother Kaveri).
Other operations
- More than a year ago, PM Narendra Modi-led government undertook what looked like a massive challenge to evacuate Indian students from Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia. The operation to evacuate Indian students stranded in Ukraine was called ‘Operation Ganga.’ The Ganges is not just a huge water resource but is worshipped in India.
- The rescue operation undertaken by India when Afghanistan was under attack from the Taliban was called ‘Operation Devi Shakti’.
