Modi ji, India's bridge of hope: Illustration hails PM's Ukraine evacuation efforts

Pic: Twitter

On Thursday (March 2, 2022), Union Minister Piyush Goyal shared a cartoon, praising India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to evacuate its citizens from war-torn Ukraine. The illustration shows Modi half-submerged in water, with both his hands outstretched, forming a bridge between a river whose either sides seem to stand for Ukraine and India. The illustration shows citizens from other nations pleading for help from their respective governments.

PM Modi serves as the bridge that is allowing Indian students to cross over from the war-hit Ukraine to the safety of their homes in India. But similar help doesn't seem to be coming from other nations for their stranded citizens, as per the illustration.  The minister took to social media platform Koo to share the cartoon which was then widely shared and went viral. It was also posted on Twitter. Goyal captioned it as: 'PM  Narendra Modi ji, India's 'Bridge of Hope'.

PM @NarendraModi ji, India's 'Bridge of Hope'

#OperationGanga pic.twitter.com/O3hZVPyGGS

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) March 3, 2022

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday interacted with a group of students who have returned from war-hit Ukraine and hail from various parts of Uttar Pradesh, official sources said. The students shared their experiences with Modi, who is on a tour to the state as part of the BJP's campaign for the assembly polls. The Prime Minister represents Varanasi constituency in Lok Sabha.

The government has launched "Operation Ganga" to evacuate Indian citizens, mostly students, from Ukraine which has been attacked by Russia. The government has already sent four Union ministers to countries neighbouring Ukraine as India's "special envoys" to coordinate the evacuation efforts.

Also, in a bid to further scale up the evacuation efforts, the government has deployed 80 flights under 'Operation Ganga' to evacuate stranded Indians from Ukraine. Till March 2, a total of 24 flights have landed under 'Operation Ganga'. 

The government started 'Operation Ganga' on February 26 to evacuate stranded Indians from Ukraine. The first flight carrying Indians landed in Mumbai on February 26 which was received by Piyush Goyal. Prime Minister has sent four Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Hardeep Singh Puri, Kiren Rijiju, and VK Singh to Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Poland to oversee the evacuation of Indians. The Modi government has also roped in ministers to monitor smooth evacuation and receive Indians at Delhi and Mumbai Airport who are coming from Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Poland under Operation Ganga.

(With Agency inputs)