Operation Sagar Bandhu: Navy deploys INS Gharial, three LCUs to render aid to Sri Lanka

New Delhi, Dec 8 (PTI) The Indian Navy has deployed INS Gharial and three other vessels as part of the ongoing Operation Sagar Bandhu for offering humanitarian assistance and relief to the cyclone-affected regions of Sri Lanka, officials said on Monday.

INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri and INS Sukanya had earlier rendered relief assistance and heli-borne support the for search and rescue operations in the island nation.

"As part of Operation Sagar Bandhu, which was launched to provide urgent search and rescue and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) support to Sri Lanka, the Indian Navy has deployed four more ships -- INS Gharial, LCU 54, LCU 51 and LCU 57 for supplying HADR stores to the cyclone-affected regions of Sri Lanka," the defence ministry said.

The three LCUs (Landing Craft Utility) reached Colombo on the morning of December 7 and handed over critical relief material to the Sri Lankan authorities.

INS Gharial is scheduled to reach Trincomalee on December 8 to continue the humanitarian assistance mission, the ministry sad in a statement earlier in the day.

With 1,000 tonnes of supplies for providing succour, this deployment of ships underscores the "strong people-to-people ties" between India and Sri Lanka, and Indian Navy's commitment to providing timely humanitarian assistance to "our IOR (Indian Ocean Region) neighbours," it said.

In the wake of Cyclone Ditwah, which has caused severe flooding, loss of life and widespread disruptions across Sri Lanka, India launched Operation Sagar Bandhu on November 28 to provide urgent rescue and HADR support.

Last week, a C-17 transport aircraft of the IAF airlifted a para field hospital unit from Agra to Colombo, while the Indian Army deployed an integrated task force -- a self-contained composite HADR contingent -- under Operation Sagar Bandhu to provide critical relief, restore essential services and support families in cyclone-hit Sri Lanka. PTI KND ARI