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Having bought back some 3,000 Indian nationals stranded in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the Indian Navy on Monday embarked on a new mission to repatriate about 200 Indian fishermen stranded in Iran for months now. The navy’s INS Shardul entered the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Monday, a statement said, and will soon start the process of bringing back the fishermen.
The operation Samudra Setu is part of the Vande Bharat mission launched on 7 May to bring back Indians stranded abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to data from the Indian foriegn ministry, till Thursday, more than 107,000 have returned home since the launch of the mission. Over 340,000 have registered with Indian missions abroad to return home, the foreign ministry said. Arrangements for social distancing have been kept in mind onboard the INS Shardul and “the ship has been specially provisioned for the evacuation operation, including embarkation of additional medical staff, doctors, hygienists, nutritionists, medical stores, rations, personal protective equipment, face-masks, lifesaving gear etc” the statement said.
In addition to authorised medical outfit, medical equipment specific to dealing with COVID-19 including innovative products developed by the Indian Navy during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is also being carried onboard, it added.
