Around 1,800 stranded Indian nationals are to leave the Maldives within the next two weeks, as part of the biggest evacuation exercise in India’s history.
While 698 Indian nationals were evacuated via the country’s Navy Ship INS Jalashwa on Friday, High Commissioner Sunjay Sudhir in an interview on RaajjeTV’s Covid-19 coverage said that they expect to evacuate “about 1,800 Indian nationals” within the next two weeks.
As such, about 200 to 250 people are to be repatriated on Sunday via a smaller ship under ‘’Operation Samudra Setu" translated to “Sea Bridge”. Further, INS Jalashwa is to return to evacuate about 700 more people while the smaller ship is to make a second voyage from Maldives as well.
“What we are expecting is to send back around 1,800 Indians to Cochin and Tuticorin”High Commissioner Sunjay Sudhir
All evacuees will be quarantined for a 14-day period before they are allowed to return to their respective destinations, they will also have to pay for their travel as well as quarantine.
