India and Jordan have strongly reaffirmed their shared stand against terrorism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Amman saw both nations condemning terrorism in all its forms. Discussions also focused on deepening economic engagement. Several agreements were finalised in areas including
Cyclone Ditwah:India sends relief items, rescue teams to Sri Lanka
India dispatched search and rescue teams and relief materials such as food items, tents and blankets to Sri Lanka on Saturday to help people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, which killed 153 people across the country, with another 200 reported missing.
An Il-76 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) carried two urban search and rescue teams, comprising 80 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and nine tonnes of relief materials to Colombo as part of Operation Sagar Bandhu (on Saturday), external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on social media.
The search and rescue teams, comprising 80 personnel and four dogs, have specialised humanitarian assistance and disaster relief equipment and are led by PK Tiwary, commandant of the 8th Battalion of NDRF.
Another C-130J transport aircraft of the IAF carried 12 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Colombo, while the Indian Navy warships INS Vikrant and INS Udaygiri, which were in Sri Lanka for an international fleet review, delivered 6.5 tonnes of rations and other essential relief items on Friday.
The IAF and the Indian Navy mobilised four helicopters to help with the search and rescue missions. Two Chetak helicopters from the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, with Sri Lankan air force personnel on board, rescued several people in the cyclone-hit areas.
Another two Mi-17 helicopters of the IAF reached Sri Lanka on Saturday evening to bolster search and rescue efforts. They also carried essential humanitarian supplies and personnel to support relief operations.
The helicopters will work closely with Sri Lankan authorities for search and rescue missions, the Indian high commission in Colombo said.
The 27 tonnes of relief materials delivered by air and sea include food items, tents, tarpaulins, blankets, hygiene kits and ready-to-eat meals. India's speedy response reflected its established position as the first responder to natural disasters in the Indian Ocean region.
“The NDRF teams are equipped with inflatable boats, hydraulic cutting and breaching tools, communication gear, medical first-aid kits and other specialised humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) equipment,” NDRF's DIG(Operations) Mohsen Shahedi said.
The international deployment complemented NDRF's domestic preparedness, with 14 teams positioned in vulnerable coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, including Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, and Mayiladuthurai.
Additional teams have been earmarked for Puducherry and 10 more teams were being sent from Pune and Vadodara to Chennai, they said.
“The NDRF headquarters is conducting continuous monitoring and coordination with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), state governments, the Ministry of External Affairs and other agencies to ensure a seamless response both at home and abroad,” Shahedi added.
People aware of the matter said the NDRF teams have started relief and rescue work in Kochchikade, Sri Lanka's western province, which is one of the most inundated areas in the country. A person aware of the matter, on the condition of anonymity, said, “The NDRF teams have established contact with the people trapped in different places and have started the evacuation.”
The Indian high commission also set up an emergency help desk at Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport to help stranded citizens amid reports that special evacuation flights would be operated. Indian citizens at Sri Lankan airports or any part of the country in need of assistance can reach out to the emergency number — +94 773727832.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on social media that he had spoken to the Indian high commissioner, Santosh Jha, about people from his constituency of Thiruvananthapuram who were unable to leave Colombo because of lack of flights. “Reassured to hear that the Indian Air Force will be organising evacuation flights starting at 5 AM tomorrow to take Indian passengers, who have registered with the Indian high commissions control room at the airport, back to safety in India,” he said.
There was no official word on evacuation flights though the Indian mission in Colombo asked Indian citizens stranded in Sri Lanka to register their details either online or at the emergency help desk at Bandaranaike airport. The mission is “making all efforts to provide assistance to the stranded Indian passengers and is facilitating their travel back to India”, it said.
Acting high commissioner Satyanjal Pandey met stranded Indians at Bandaranaike airport and assured them of all possible assistance. He said the government “will facilitate their swift travel back to India”.
Torrential rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah affected almost 44,000 people in Sri Lanka. Many of them were moved to state-run welfare centres after their homes were destroyed in week-long heavy rains, Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said.
The cyclone was moving away from Sri Lanka towards India but it has left massive destruction, the DMC said. The effects of the cyclone have been felt since Monday, though it made landfall on Wednesday, triggering record rainfall across Sri Lanka.
Floods in low-lying areas worsened on Saturday, prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders for those living along the Kelani river, which flows into the Indian Ocean from Colombo.
With inputs from Prawesh Lama
Source: HindustanTimes
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India and Jordan have strongly reaffirmed their shared stand against terrorism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Amman saw both nations condemning terrorism in all its forms. Discussions also focused on deepening economic engagement. Several agreements were finalised in areas including
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