Sanjay Pandita from Srinagar in Kashmir broke into tears as he thanked the Indian government for evacuating his son who was stranded in Sumy of war-hit Ukraine. Sanjay Pandita said, “I would say that he is not my son; he is Modi’s son. He has brought my son back.”
Overwhelmed with emotions, Sanjay Pandita said he had no hopes of his son’s return from Ukraine but the Indian government brought him back.
On 11th March 2022, parents of many students and relatives of working professionals were waiting for hours outside the Delhi airport as the last flights of Operation Ganga were about to return from Ukraine. Sanjay Pandita was one of those anxious fathers who were hoping and praying for the return of their children. More than 18000 Indians were saved by operation Ganga. All of them were stranded in various cities of the war-hit Ukraine.
What did Sanjay Pandita say?
As the Indian citizens returning from Ukraine came out of the airport, tears rolled down the eyes of their relatives who were waiting for them. Many of them distributed sweets and welcomed their loved ones with garlands. At this time, Sanjay Pandita said while speaking with ANI, “I want to say that it’s Modiji’s son who has returned, not my son. We had no hopes given the circumstances in Sumy. I am thankful to Government of India for evacuating my son.”
#WATCH A tearful Sanjay Pandita from Srinagar, Kashmir welcomes his son Dhruv on his return from Sumy, #Ukraine, says, “I want to say that it’s Modiji’s son who has returned, not my son. We had no hopes given the circumstances in Sumy. I am thankful to GoI for evacuating my son.” pic.twitter.com/ygqOVk5PGm
— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2022
Sanjay Pandita further said, “When we asked him what to bring for you, he said nothing, just bring some water for me. Because situations in Sumy were so difficult that these boys did not get enough water to drink when they had left. So we had brought some water for him to drink.”
Operation Ganga
Operation Ganga was launched on February 26 to evacuate nearly 20,000 Indian nationals who were stuck in Ukraine amid the conflict. Several special flights had been running from Poland, Romania, and Hungary to bring the students home. Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, and SpiceJet had also joined the mission operating multiple flights from Ukraine’s neighboring countries to Delhi and Mumbai.
It must be mentioned that the Ukrainian airspace was closed for civilian aircraft from the day the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out. As such, the Indian embassy in Ukraine had to coordinate with the embassies of neighboring countries in Poland, Romania, and Hungary for the creation of safe evacuation channels. Under ‘Operation Ganga’, Indians were first taken in batches from Ukraine to bordering countries via buses/commute arranged by the embassy. They were then airlifted to Delhi or Mumbai through chartered Air India flights.
The Indian government had sent its 4 Union Ministers, namely, Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju, and General (Retd) VK Singh to Hungary, Romania and Moldova, Slovakia, and Poland respectively, to coordinate the Operation Ganga.
