Your families are waiting with bated breath: Smriti Irani to students

New Delhi, March 2: As Indian nationals from war-torn Ukraine landed at Delhi airport on Wednesday morning through special flights under Operation Ganga, several Union Ministers welcomed them at the airport. A special flight carrying 218 Indian nationals from Bucharest at Delhi Airport, Union Minister Smriti Irani welcomed them through the Public Address System of the special IndiGo airlines.

"Welcome back home! Your families are waiting with bated breath. You have shown exemplary courage. Let's thank the flight crew as well," said Smriti Irani. She also raised the slogan with students 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh was also present at the airport to receive the students. Reassuring the students that there's no need to worry and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making all efforts to bring back other students as well, he said, "About 220 students arrived via Istanbul. I asked a girl where she is from, like state-wise, but she replied, 'I'm from India'. They still can't believe that they are back in India due to stress. We ensured they spoke with their parents."

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, one of the four ministers who flew to oversee the evacuation process, posted a video on his Twitter account where he can be seen interacting with the students. "Thank God you all are well," he tells Indian nationals.

As per an estimate, there are a total 18,000 student stranded in war-conflict zones. However, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Singhla on Tuesday said that so far 12,000 Indians have been brought out of Ukraine which is 60 per cent of the total Indians in Ukraine.