India helps Cyclone Ditwah-affected Sri Lanka with NDRF teams while preparing to aid TN, Puducherry coasts
India initiated 'Operation Sagar Bandhu,' deploying two specialised NDRF teams with 80 rescuers and canine units to Sri Lanka. This critical aid, following Cyclone Ditwah, focuses on search, rescue, and relief efforts for the island nation.
New Delhi: Many places in Sri Lanka, the island nation, have been deeply affected by Cyclone Ditwah. India, as a friend of the country, reportedly extended a helping hand on Saturday by deploying two specialised National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams to support search, rescue, and relief operations.
India's aid to Sri Lanka
India has launched Operation Sagar Bandhu under which 80 rescuers and four canine units took off from Hindon Air Base aboard an Indian Air Force IL-76 aircraft on Saturday morning. P.K. Tiwary, Commandant of the NDRF’s 8th Battalion, is leading the contingent. Earlier, India had sent international assistance during the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and the 2025 Myanmar earthquake.
According to reports, a NDRF spokesperson has said, "The teams are equipped with inflatable boats, hydraulic cutting and breaching tools, communication gear, medical first-aid kits and other specialised humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) equipment." Notably, the NDRF is also working actively along the vulnerable coasts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry as heavy weather is expected to lash those regions.
It has 14 teams as of now in the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, and more teams are being sent to Puducherry, and 10 more teams are being sent to Chennai. The spokesperson said, "The NDRF headquarters is conducting continuous monitoring and coordination with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), state governments, the Ministry of External Affairs and other agencies to ensure a seamless response both at home and abroad."