New Delhi: The sudden outbreak of Coronavirus was followed by shutting down of economies and suspension of modes of transport globally. This left Indian citizens stranded not just in many parts of the country but also in many nations abroad.
The government, though initially reluctant, launched the evacuation operation on a war-footing and transported lakhs of stranded migrant labours to their home from different Indian cities mostly metros. For Indian nationals stranded abroad, it pressed into service airline and naval fleet (Vande Bharat & Operation Samudra Setu respectively) which went beyond their call of duty to bring back the stranded Indians from several parts of the world.
Vande Bharat Mission: Close to 8 lakh Indians back home
Over 7.88 lakh Indians stranded abroad due to Coronavirus pandemic have returned under Vande Bharat Mission till July 22, Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
Addressing the regular weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said 1,03,976 Indians who have returned from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh through land borders.
“As of July 22, under the Vande Bharat Mission a total of 7,88, 217 Indian nationals have returned and this includes 1,03,976 Indians who have returned from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh through land borders,” he said.
The government started Vande Bharat Mission on May 7 to evacuate Indians stuck in foreign countries due to suspension of flights owing to coronavirus pandemic.
1197 flights scheduled so far under Phase IV
Under Phase Four of Vande Bharat Mission, a total of 1,197 flights have been scheduled so far. These include 945 international flights and 252 feeder flights.
These flights are operated by the Air India group, Indigo, Spicejet and Go Air and cover 29 countries. Briefing media in New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, of these flights, 694 flights have already reached India as on 22nd July.
Between 22nd of July and 31st of August, Air India will be operating 30 flights a week to the US, four flights a week to Germany, and three flights a week to France.
Railways ran 4,615 Shramik trains from May to July
The Indian Railways on Thursday said that it has met all existing demand of states for Shramik Special trains to ferry stranded migrant workers home, with the last service being operated on July 9.
Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav said a total of 4,615 Shramik Special trains have been run since May 1, taking over 63 lakh people home during the coronavirus lockdown.
The Railways started Shramik Specials on May 1 to transport stranded migrant workers to their native states after thousands tried to reach home on foot due to the lockdown.
The Ministry of Railways has said it subsidised the ticket prices for migrant workers by agreeing to pay 85% while state governments have been asked to pay the remaining 15%.
The last Shramik Special train ran on July 9 and with that we presume that we have met the demand of the states regarding these trains. However, if there is more such demand, we will run these services again, Yadav said in an online press conference today.
