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.