PM Modi speaks to President Putin on safe passage of Indians
Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Mar, 2022 06:08 PM
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on phone on Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the situation in Ukraine, and sought safge passage for Indians in the country.
The two leaders reviewed the situation, especially in the city of Kharkiv where many Indian students are stuck, and discussed the safe evacuation of Indian nationals from the conflict areas, an MEA statement said.
This came as the Indian Embassy in Ukraine asked all Indians in Kharkiv to leave the city by any means, including on foot, by 6 p.m. (local time).
The MEA said that around 17,000 Indian nationals have left the war-torn country since the Indian Embassy in Ukraine issued its advisory.
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the Embassy in Kyiv has been asked to set up a temporary office in Lviv to facilitate border crossing into neighbouring European countries by Indian nationals.
He also said that a mechanism has been established for issuing emergency certificates to those who lost their Indian passports.
"A substantial segment of our embassy team is now at Lviv for this purpose. Location of the other segment of the embassy team is dynamic," he added.
"We are exploring options to reach eastern Ukraine to assist the evacuation of citizens who are stuck there. We are seeing if our teams can reach there, it's not easy because the route is not open all the time," the spokesperson said.
Toughening his stance, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday clarified that he won't meet new state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu till he publicly apologises to him.
Delhi's iconic Red Fort will be shut for the public from July 21 till Independence Day celebrations on August 15 are over, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said on Tuesday.
Taking part in a discussion in the Upper House, Puri said, "I have got an impression that the one realisation which has escaped many is that the enemy here is the virus, not the government, or the Chief Ministers, or the system. It is the virus which is the real enemy."
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said it is not correct to say that the third Covid wave will affect children as in the two waves till now children were relatively less infected.
Most experts believe India’s official toll of 414,000 dead was a vast undercount, but the government has dismissed those concerns. A report released Tuesday estimates excess deaths to be 3 million to 4.7 million between January 2020 and this June.
Rejecting all opposition to his elevation, Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi appointed Navjot Singh Sidhu as the party's new Punjab unit President along with four Working Presidents.
