Repatriated Indians arrive at Kochi onboard INS Jalashwa

INS
Jalashwa, deployed for “Operation SamudraSetu”, entered Kochi harbour on 10 May
with a total of 698 Indian nationals stranded at Maldives, which included
women, elderly people and children. The ship had sailed from Maldives on 08 May
post completion of all embarkation formalities.

All
necessary measures were taken by the respective teams to ensure safe
embarkation with minimal social contact. Adequate care was also taken to cater
for the old aged people, pregnant ladies and children in arms during the
trip.  All the passengers were handled by
trained Indian Navy personnel donning Personal Protective Equipment.

The evacuation operation was conducted in accordance with all Standard Operating Procedures(SOP) and guidelines issued by the Government of India.

The
passengers were received, by the naval and civil administration authorities
present at the Cruise Terminal of Cochin Port Trust. Extensive arrangements
have been put in place by the State Government for speedy completion of CoViD
screening and immigration formalities at the Cruise Terminal.

Glassed
counters have been set up at the terminal in accordance with medical protocol
for Customs, Immigration, Police, Health department, BSNL and District
Administration. In addition, baggage trolleys for the passengers were arranged
from Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), all aimed at facilitating
speedy disembarkation, segregation and completion of all health and medical
formalities in an efficient manner.

INS
Jalashwa, based at Visakhapatnam has been at the forefront of similar
evacuation efforts of Indian nationals and major Humanitarian Assistance and
Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts of the Indian Navy. The ship is designed to
carry troops and the facilities onboard were modified for the ongoing
evacuation. She is manned by trained medical teams of the Indian Navy,
specifically embarked for the ongoing Operation

The
repatriation completed on Sunday was the first part of the operation, as
another amphibious ship, INS Magar, based at Kochi will leave Male on 10 May 20
with 250 Indian nationals and will head back home. This entire exercise is part
of Vande Bharat Mission of the Government of India for repatriation of Indian
nationals from the Middle East and Maldives in the backdrop of CoViD 19 pandemic.