Vande Bharat lifeline of citizens stranded abroad: Indian Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan

Air India has ferried 550 Indians, stranded in Kyrgyzstan, back home with 10 more flights planned from the Central Asian country under phase three of the Vande Bharat Mission, starting June 15.

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"The Ministry of External Affairs, the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Home Ministry, and the embassy have taken all possible steps to ensure that our nationals stranded and facing hardships for various reasons are able to return home," India's Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Alok Amitabh Dimri told PTI.

"Vande Bharat Mission has emerged as the nation's life-line to its citizens abroad and has attested that India today values each of its national, at home or abroad. Vande Bharat Mission’s message of care has transpired a sense of bonding and community besides pride in 21st Century India", he said.

The Vande Bharat, launched on May 7, is the Indian government's largest ever exercise to repatriate its nationals stranded abroad due to the coronavirus lockdown. Over 1.07 lakh nationals have so far returned to the country under the programme.

There are about 15,000 Indian nationals living in the Kyrgyz Republic, most of them students pursuing medical education.

Four Air India flights, the first on May 26 to Gaya, followed by a flight to Jaipur on June 1 and two flights on June 2 to Delhi and Hyderabad have so far repatriated 550 Indians back from the Central Asian Republic.

Mortal remains of one deceased Indian national were sent back to Chennai on one of the flights. A Kyrgyz national with liver-transplant complications in need of urgent medical attention was also accommodated in the flight to New Delhi as a goodwill gesture, officials said.

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The Vande Bharat Mission flight operations from the Kyrgyz Capital of Bishkek was coordinated by the Air India office in Israel.

"As an offline station it was a mammoth task of coordination and it would not have been possible without the excellent support and coordination given by the team of Indian Embassy officials in Bishkek and Air India Airport Manager in Israel, Anjali Nanda", Air India's country Manager in Israel, Pankaj Tiwari, told PTI.

"There are several Indian Nationals still stranded in Kyrgyzstan and under the phase 3 of Vande Bharat Mission, Air India will operate 10 more flights starting June 15 from Bishkek to various Indian cities," Tiwari added.

The Air India office in Tel Aviv will also be coordinating the evacuation of Indian nationals stranded in Finland.