With fresh consignments of relief material, medical support and infrastructure restoration reaching to the cyclone-affected areas, India’s Operation Sagar Bandhu continues to help mitigate the devastating effect cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka.
Since the launch of operation Sagar Bandhu, on November 28 India has delivered about 11,00 tonnes of relief material to Sri Lanka. The supplies include dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, clothing, water purification units and 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment. An additional 60 tonnes of equipment has also been transported.
India government has pressed its Naval and air assets immediately, in the aftermath of cyclone Ditwah in the region. Indian Naval Ship Vikrant and INS Udaygiri were the first to reach Sri Lankan waters on November 28. They were followed by INS Sukanya on December 1 and four Landing Craft Utility ships ferrying close to 1,000 tonnes of relief material from Tamil Nadu to Colombo and Trincomalee ports.
On December 8, INS Gharial docked at Trincomalee with 700 metric tonnes of food items and clothing sent by the Government of Tamil Nadu. A day earlier, on December 7, three Indian naval ships delivered another 300 metric tonnes from Tamil Nadu to Colombo.
The consignment was formally handed over by Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha to Sri Lanka’s Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, Wasantha Samarasinghe.
Meanwhile, Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force with their dog squad (80 personnel and K9 units) that arrived on the next day of the disaster have completed search and rescue tasks and returned to India last week.
A 78-member Indian Army para field hospital, airlifted to Sri Lanka on December 2, is fully operational at Mahiyanganaya near Kandy. So far, the hospital has treated more than 2,200 cyclone-affected patients, performed 67 minor procedures and three major surgeries. The medical center is currently managing around 1,200 patients per day. India has also set up mobile medical centres equipped with BHISHM Arogya Maitri cubes into other hard-hit areas.
Indian Army engineers have begun construction of the first bridge on the A35 Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu road in Kilinochchi district. The 248 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units have been airlifted in four consignments. On December 9, an Indian Air Force C-17 delivered the latest batch of 63 tonnes.
Two MI-17 helicopters that operated from November 29 to December 6 evacuated 264 survivors and airlifted 50 tonnes of relief material before returning to India for maintenance. A fresh MI-17 arrived in Colombo to sustain the effort. Two Chetak helicopters from INS Vikrant remain deployed to help rescu and research efforts.