By Ujjwal Roy
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 14 (ANI): A 24-year-old pilot from Kolkata, Mahasweta Chakraborty, evacuated 800 Indian students under Operation Ganga amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict. Speaking to ANI, Mahasweta said, “I was a part of Operation Ganga during the first week of March. We brought back around 800 Indian students from Ukraine, Poland, and Hungary to India during the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.”
The Kolkata pilot said she cannot forget the day she was selected for this operation. It was overwhelming to be a part of this mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Civil Aviation Ministry, she added. “I received a call to take part in Operation Ganga and had to leave at short notice. I could not even inform my parents,” the young pilot said.
It is my duty to serve the country first, she said, adding that the mission was successful due to the efforts of every person involved in it. Mahasweta works as a pilot for a private airline in India. She has been working as a pilot for the past four years.
She was a part of Operation Ganga from February 28 to March 6 and brought back around 800 Indian students from the Ukrainian border to India in eight sorties. Mahashweta added, “I was also a part of Vande Bharat during the initial phase of COVID-19. We brought oxygen cylinders and other medical equipment from different countries. I am happy and honoured to have been a part of two major emergency operations in India: Operation Ganga and Vande Bharat. I am ready for challenging tasks in the coming days,” she added.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday lauded the authorities who facilitated the smooth conduct of Operation Ganga launched by the government of India to bring back students from the war-torn country. So far, India has evacuated over 20,000 of its citizens from war-hit Ukraine under Operation Ganga. On February 24, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk republics requested help in ‘defending themselves’. (ANI)
