MEA Jaishankar assures CM Bommai full cooperation in evacuating Indians stranded in Ukraine

BENGALURU: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Saturday assured Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai full cooperation and support from the Government of India to evacuate people from Karnataka who are stranded in

Ukraine

.

The Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (

KSDMA

), led by its commissioner Dr Manoj Rajan, said in a statement that Bommai called Jaishankar and spoke regarding the stranded people from the state, most of whom are students.

According to the KSDMA, as many as 347 people from the state are stranded in Ukraine.

The KSDMA also said the Chief Minister's Office, Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar and the nodal officers were personally pursuing stranded cases with the MEA and Indian

Embassy

in Kyiv.

The Embassy in Kyiv is open, fully operational and making all efforts to reach out to the stranded people/students from India and working on a mission mode to make alternative arrangement for safe evacuation, the KSDMA said.

"The state government had activated the State Emergency Operation Room with two 24x7 helpline numbers 080-1070 and 080-22253707 on 24th February. Further, an app/ portal has been developed in less than 12 hours to capture details of stranded students hailing from Karnataka. The information captured are being shared with Ministry of External Affairs on real-time basis," the KSDMA said.

It added that a web portal -- http://ukraine.karnataka.tech -- has been created to collect relevant information of stranded people in Ukraine who hail from Karnataka.

"The state government after collating data on stranded students hailing from Karnataka through the helpline number and web application, shared details with the MEA control room in New Delhi and Embassy of India-Kyiv on near real-time basis," it said.

The state government on February 24 appointed Dr Manoj Rajan, Commissioner, KSDMA, as Nodal Officer to coordinate with the MEA and Embassy of India, Kyiv for safe repatriation of Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine.

The KSDMA said as on February 26, 431 unique calls have been received in the state Emergency Operation Centre.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine on Thursday. Russia has launched multiple attacks on several areas in central and eastern Ukraine.