India on Friday brought back 170 of its citizens from Bangladesh, who were stranded here due to lockdown and flight suspension meant to curb spread of corona virus.

An Air India flight with students from various medical colleges in Dhaka left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 11am for Srinagar, India.

Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Riva Ganguly Das was present at the airport to see-off the first batch of Indians leaving Bangladesh and interacted with them.

Wishing the students a safe journey back home, the High Commissioner reiterated Government of India’s commitment to the welfare of its citizens abroad. The High Commissioner said that she was particularly pleased that the young students would be able to go home before Eid.

The students thanked the High Commission for its efforts towards evacuating them.

ndia will evacuate its citizen from Bangladesh in a phased manner. In the first phase, 7 flights of Air India will carry Indian nationals to Srinagar (8, 12, 13 May), Delhi (9 & 11 May), Mumbai (10 May) Chennai (14 May) in a span of a week with each flight carrying approximately 170 passengers.

The government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has commenced the biggest repatriation exercise ever with “Vande Bharat Mission” to bring back stranded Indians abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This includes many Indian Nationals who had travelled to different countries before the lockdown, on various purposes such as employment, studies/ internships, tourism, business, etc., are stranded abroad.

Apart from the above cases, there are other Indian nationals who need to visit India in medical emergencies or death of a family member, according to Indian High Commission in Dhaka.

Vande Bharat Mission is a “mammoth logistical exercise” that involves integrated approach, meticulous planning, complex coordination and implementation between Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs and the State governments.

The Ministry of External Affairs has deputed nodal officers for most of the states for the evacuation exercise.

Bangladesh has so far brought back 2000 citizens from a number of Indian cities who got stuck there due to countrywide lockdown there amid coronavirus pandemic.