Third flight with 183 Ukraine evacuees lands in Mumbai
Darpan News Desk IANS, 03 Mar, 2022 12:57 PM
Mumbai, March 3 (IANS) An Air India Express flight from Bucharest, carrying 183 Indians from the war-torn Ukraine, landed here on Thursday, officials said.
The flight IX-1202 with 183 passengers, including an infant, arrived at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at around 5.40 a.m.
The evacuees were received by Union Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve-Patil with flowers and words of solace as they trooped out lugging their belongings.
Outside the airport, the returnees were given a warm welcome by their families, relatives and friends anxiously awaiting their arrival since midnight.
This was the third flight of evacuees in the past six days to Mumbai and a few more are expected to be operated this week as part of the Operation Ganga launched by India.
While one flight from Bucharest is likely to reach here at 1.50 a.m. on Friday, another is scheduled from Budapest the same day at 8 a.m., said officials.
Till date, Danve-Patil said around 4,000-5,000 Indians, mostly students have safely returned home and the operations will continue till all those stuck there are brought back.
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.
Calling the reports of alleged snooping on prominent citizens using Israeli Pegasus spyware as "baseless", the ruling BJP on Monday said there is not a single shred of evidence so far that links either the central government or the party to this controversy.
Congress MPs from both Houses had met on Sunday afternoon at Rajya Sabha member Pratap Singh Bajwa's residence to discuss the issues related to Punjab and sought an appointment with Gandhi.
Apart from reviewing the security arrangements in the national capital, the Delhi Police have also strengthened the security in and around the Red Fort ahead of the Independence Day.
Police said acting on a specific information, Budgam Police along with the Army's 53 RR and 43 BN of the CRPF arrested one local terrorist linked with proscribed terror outfit LeT and recovered incriminating materials, arms and ammunition including one Chinese pistol, one magazine, eight live pistol rounds from his possession.
