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New Delhi [India], April 24 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the central government had launched 'Operation Kaveri' to bring back stranded Indians from conflict-ridden Sudan.
Interestingly, the Choice of naming this operation as 'Operation Kaveri' has a lot of significance.
"This is on the same lines as that the PM chose to name the operation in Ukraine as Operation Ganga," a top source told ANI.
The Kaveri is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The river is sacred to the people of the region and is worshipped as the Goddess Kaveriamma (mother Kaveri).
"Rivers reach their destination irrespective of barriers. It's like a mother who will ensure she will bring her children back to safety," another top source told ANI on the naming of this operation by the Modi government.
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While addressing the Yuvam Conclave in Kochi, PM Modi said, "Due to the civil war in Sudan, many of our people are stuck there. Therefore, we have started Operation Kaveri to bring them safely. It is being overseen by the son of Kerala and the Minister of our government, Muraleedharan."
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan will be leaving for Jeddah to oversee rescue efforts in Sudan.
Muraleedhara tweeted, "Express my profound gratitude to Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji for making me part of the #OperationKaveri to bring back stranded Indians safely from Sudan. As guided by Hon'ble PM, I will be leaving for Jeddah shortly to oversee our rescue efforts."
Battles continue to rage in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere between troops loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed "Hemedti" Hamdan Daglo, commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed that its 'Operation Kaveri' to evacuate its citizens from battle-torn Sudan is underway and about 500 Indians had reached Port Sudan. India has launched "Operation Kaveri" to bring back stranded Indians from war-torn Sudan.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, Jaishankar said, "Operation Kaveri gets underway to bring back our citizens stranded in Sudan. About 500 Indians have reached Port Sudan. More on their way. Our ships and aircraft are set to bring them back home. Committed to assist all our bretheren in Sudan."
More than a year ago, PM Narendra Modi-led government undertook what looked like a massive challenge to evacuate Indian students from Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia. The operation to evacuate Indian students stranded in Ukraine was called 'Operation Ganga.'
The Ganges is not just a huge water resource but is worshipped in India. The rescue operation undertaken by India when Afghanistan was under attack from the Taliban was called 'Operation Devi Shakti'.
Explaining the rationale behind the naming of Operation Devi Shakti, sources said Goddess Durga is a protector and comes to the help of people in distress. They said the name of the divine helps boost morale of people in stressful situation. PM Modi is a devotee of Goddess Durga
This year, India sent rescue and relief material to an earthquake-hit Turkey and Syria and that was named Operation Dost. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams canines teams went into the disaster zone to execute swift relief operations.
The citizens of Turkey and Sudan thanked India for its assistance. Turkish Ambassador to India Firat Sunel said, "Dost kara gunde belli olur (a friend in need is a friend indeed). Thank you very much India". That's how the term Operation Dost came into being.
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