Reaching out to the littoral countries located on the rim of the strategically important Indian Ocean, India has dispatched its warship to supply essential items to at least five countries in the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic. The ship INS Kesari set sail on Sunday as part of ‘Mission Sagar’ and this effort is in line with India’s role as the first responder in the region.
Giving details of the deployment, officials said here the countries which will get the items include Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros. The ship is carrying food Items, COVID related medicines including HCQ Tablets and Special Ayurvedic Medicines with Medical Assistance Teams.
The deployment is in consonance with Prime Ministers Narendra Modi’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) and highlights the importance accorded by India to relations with her neighbouring countries and further strengthens the existing bond.
The operation is being progressed in close coordination with the Ministries of Defence and External Affairs, and other agencies of the government, officials said here.
As part of Mission Sagar, INS Kesari would enter the Port of Male in Republic of Maldives, to provide them 600 tons of food provisions. India and Maldives are close maritime neighbours with strong and extremely cordial defence and diplomatic relations.
This even as INS Jalashwa reached Kochi, Kerala on Sunday with 698 Indian evacuees from Maldives, another Indian Navy warship INS Magar reached Male, capital of Maldives on Sunday to bring out 200 more Indians. They will be ferried to Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. Both the warships are deployed for the rescue effort codenamed ‘Operation Samudra Setu.’
INS Magar has made all necessary logistic, medical and administrative preparations at her base port Kochi to comfortably accommodate civilians before setting sail towards Maldives.
The ship will evacuate Indian citizens while ensuring all precautions related to COVID-19 including social distancing norms are followed. An entirely separate section of the ship with essential facilities like food and washrooms has been prepared to accommodate the evacuees and a separate mess has been allotted for women, infants and senior citizens. Additional precautions have been taken by dividing the evacuees into groups to avoid crowding at common areas like dining hall and bathrooms.