03 Mar Evaluation of operation Ganga : Need of clear evacuation policy of India at the time of emergency
Evaluation of operation Ganga – Today Current Affairs
Context : during the Russian Ukrainian War , thousands of Indians are stuck in Ukraine . However, the Government had started the operation Ganga to evacuate the Indians from Ukraine. But This operation is also not free from criticism. Opposition political party leaders are continuously raising the questions regarding its delay . There are not any clear instructions and strategy regarding evacuations of Indians. India is not facing the problem of evacuation for the first time. In the past we successfully operated such an evacuation operation during the Gulf war .
Today Current Affairs
Introduction
During the Russia Ukraine war , now we feel the need for a clear evacuation policy . Presently , however the government is doing its best effort to evacuate Indians from the war zone of the Ukraine but still the government has to face many problems in this operation Ganga which has been started by the government for the evacuation of Indians.
What is operation Ganga : The Hindu Analysis
Operation Ganga is an ongoing operation started by the government of India by 28th Feb 2022 for evacuating India from the nearby countries of the Ukraine (western border) during the Russia Ukraine war . It will last up to 8th march 2022. The total cost is predicted for this operation is 1.1 crore Indian missions in the neighboring countries like Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary announced to make arrangements to receive Indian nationals from Ukraine and fly them out of their respective countries under Operation Ganga flights. The cost will be borne by the Center. The cost is expected to increase as the condition of the war is going to worst
What is the evacuation : The Hindu Analysis
Definition
The basic meaning of the evacuation is a facility of exiting and safely as possible from the point of the emergency
Evacuation is appropriate when conditions inside a structure pose a threat to the health and safety of building occupants and leaving the facility is safer than remaining inside of it .Evacuation should occur through the closest exit way
Strategies for an Effective Evacuation : The Hindu Analysis
India has to operate many operation in past related to evacuation where the following strategies were adopted
- Exit the premises through the nearest exit.
- Exit immediately, do not return for personal items.
- If possible, inform others of the evacuation.
- If possible, help others evacuate.
- Evacuate regardless of whether others agree to follow.
- Use the safest evacuation route possible.
- Avoid coming in contact with the hazard (fire, suspicious package, violent intruder, etc.).
- Prevent individuals from entering an area where the hazard may be.
Assembly Locations
After evacuating, you should report to a pre-designated assembly area and wait for further instruction. Assembly areas are designated locations where a headcount can be taken or emergency officials can debrief regarding the incident.
What is the evacuation policy of India : The Hindu Analysis
There is no fixed evacuation policy in India . But many times in the past India had to operate these evacuation operations . one of the largest evacuation operation was run during the time of gulf war in which more than 175000 Indians were evacuated
Evacuation in Past : Today Current Affairs
India has been evacuated from Yemen in view of civil disturbances in 2009-10. The Embassy of India, Sana’a (Yemen) arranged the exit visas for those who are staying without proper documentation in Yemen.
Due to the turmoil in Egypt during January-February, 2011. Before that , in 1990, India evacuated approx. 190000 Indians during the gulf war .
In the past Air India arranged three special flights, on a ‘no profit’ basis. Around 670 Indians availed of these special Air India flights to return to India. As the situation deteriorated in Libya, more than 16,200 Indian nationals desirous of returning to India were evacuated from Libya by all means, i.e. by air, sea, and land.
Fund allocated for the evacuation of Indians : The Hindu Analysis
There is a fund called The Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) for such types of operations . The Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) was set up in 2009 . The objective of this fund is to provide assistance to those Indians who are residing in abroad in times of distress and emergency in the ‘most deserving cases’ on a ‘means tested basis’
ICWF has also been a critical support in emergency evacuation of Indian nationals from conflict zones, countries affected by natural disasters and other challenging situations. In view of its immense utility, ICWF stands extended to all Indian Missions and Posts abroad.
The Missions will have the following source of funding: Funds raised by the Indian Missions by levying a service charge on Consular Services as under: (i) For Passport, Visa, OCI and PIO Cards – RS. 100/-per document rounded off in local currency.
Suggestion and the need of clear evacuation policy : The Hindu Analysis
In the lack of clear evacuation policy of the government this time students studying in Ukraine are facing the problem. Government could not decide about evacuation before 12th Feb 2022 however many countries had issued advisory before 12th Feb when the situation in Ukraine had started to deteriorate . In the lack of a fixed and clear evacuation policy , this time , the operation Ganga has had several difficulties . This situation is not the last situation. Government has to form a fix evacuation policy for which there must be clear instructions and the procedure of the evacuation and in any country government should execute evacuation policy before the time starts to deteriorate
Conclusion
As per the above discussion, Operation Ganga, an evacuation operation, is going on in Ukraine to evacuate our citizens from Ukraine in such a dangerous situation. In fact there is a failure of the government that the government could not launch this operation earlier because of the lack of clear evacuation policy. But after the Russian invasion, the Government started this operation Ganga. Definitely the Government should start this operation in the first week of the February 2022 when the situation is tending towards the worst . The government should not wait for the worst situation. Anyway, we all pray for the success of this operation Ganga so that our students could bring India safely; however we have lost the life of one student .
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