GUNTUR: As many as 606 people reached Delhi and Mumbai in two batches from the strife-torn Sudan under Operation Kaveri. Vishu Vardhan, who hails from Chirala in Bapatla district, reached Delhi on Wednesday night along with other Indians evacuated from Sudan. Later, he boarded a flight from Delhi to Chennai and from there reached Vijayawada. A diploma holder with poor family background, went to Sudan six years ago to work in a ceramic unit.
In a telephonic conversation with TNIE, Vishnu Vardhan shared his nightmare in the violence-hit Sudan. “The bombardment started on April 16. As many as 47 Indians are working in the ceramic factory and we all live in company quarters. We were all very terrified. We couldn’t even come out of our quarters. We spent the last two weeks without sufficient food and water,” he recounted. Though he did not inform the frightening situation in Sudan to his family, they knew about it through the news and the Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS) contacted them.
“Contacting our families and even the Indian embassy had become very difficult due to disruption in communications. We were terrified while travelling to Port Sudan. We feared that we would be stopped by anyone and won’t be able to reach the port safely to board the ship. But by God’s grace, we all reached India safely. It was a horrible time, he said, reminiscing those awful moments. He thanked APNRTS and the GoI for making all the arrangements to reach home safely.