MEA to airlift Indians from Port of Sudan including 40 from Rajasthan

JAIPUR: The Indian embassy in Sudan has begun the process to evacuate Indians stranded in Sudan, these include 40 people from Rajasthan too. The group has boarded a bus from Khartoum on Sunday morning to reach Port of Sudan – the largest port town of the country – and would reach India on a repatriation aircraft of Indian Air Force on Monday.
The state govenrment has forwarded the list of 40 Rajasthanis to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday.
“I have my relatives who are working in Sudan. On Sunday morning they boarded a bus, along with several other Indians, and headed to the Port of Sudan from where they would be brought to India,” said Shyam Sharma, a resident of Bhoowala village under Dhod tehsil, located around 20km from Sikhar.
All these 40 people from Rajasthan used to work in Omega Steel Plant in Khartoum. It would take around 24 hours for them to reach the Port of Sudan. From there, they would be airlifted.
TOIs effort to contact these people went in vain as internet is banned in the country and cell phone connectivity has also been badly affected.
“I had managed to spoke with them in the morning when they were boarding the bus. They informed me, apart from Khortoum and a few other towns, internet is not working in the country. We are anxiously waiting to get connected with them once they reach Port of Sudan. But we are not sure whether we would be able to do,” added Sharma.
Confirming the development, Dhiraj Srivastava - the resident commissioner (Bikaner House) in Delhi and commissioner of the Rajasthan Foundation - told TOI, with these 40 from Rajasthan, there are several other Indians who would be evacuated. However, the exact figure of people from other states are not available with him.
“Considering the sensitivity of the matter, MEA is not sharing detailed information. However, the Indian embassy in Sudan is taking care of all people. We are the first state to provide such a detailed list to MEA and are in constant touch with MEA, the stranded people from the state and their relatives back home to ensure their safe evacuation,” he added.