India Deploys Special Task Force to Sri Lanka Amid Cyclone Crisis | Neighbourhood First Initiative
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New Delhi - In a show of solidarity with its closest maritime neighbour, India is deploying a high-readiness task force under Operation Sagar Bandhu to provide critical relief to cyclone-hit Sri Lanka. The Indian Army's integrated task force, comprising a self-contained composite HADR contingent, will restore essential services, support families, and provide humanitarian aid in the wake of Cyclone Ditwah. The Indian government launched Operation Sagar Bandhu on November 28, with the aim of providing urgent search, rescue, and humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka. Since then, India has delivered over 53 tonnes of relief material to the country via air and sea. The mission embodies India's civilisational pledge of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' - The World is One Family - as the Indian Army stands firmly with Sri Lanka in its hour of need. Indian Defence Ministry officials said that the Indian Air Force has been conducting rescue and relief operations, airlifting and air-dropping critical supplies and medicines to inaccessible areas. The operation has already rescued 96 people, including 11 children and 5 critically injured individuals, and shifted them to safe locations. India has been providing aid to Colombo through both sea and aerial routes, using the Indian Air Force's transport aircraft and frontline naval platforms. The Indian Navy has also deployed ships, including INS Sukanya, to deliver relief material to Trincomalee. The government has also deployed three IAF aircraft to airlift additional relief materials, including tents, tarpaulins, blankets, hygiene kits, and medicines. Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides, and infrastructure collapse triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity. As of Monday, 390 people have been killed, with 352 missing, in catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
