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New Delhi: Indian rescue teams are carrying out an extensive humanitarian operation in Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwaha unleashed severe flooding and landslides across large parts of the island nation. Under Operation Sagar Bandhu, the National Disaster Response Force from Ghaziabad has rescued more than 150 people, including a nine-month pregnant woman, as conditions remain hazardous in several districts.
The Indian government deployed two teams comprising 80 personnel and four sniffer dogs to the worst affected regions of Kaduwela, Badulla and Puttalam. Working alongside Sri Lankan security forces and local administration, the teams have saved 70 people caught in rising waters, evacuated more than 80 others from isolated areas and rescued livestock left stranded by rapidly shifting debris.
They are also distributing food packets and essential supplies to displaced families. As part of ongoing search efforts, they have recovered two bodies from collapsed structures.
The NDRF contingent is led by Commandant Praveen Tiwari of the 8th Battalion in Ghaziabad and includes four women rescuers who are providing specialised support to local women in distress. Around 24 tonnes of relief material has already been sent to Sri Lanka, and teams continue to work around the clock to reach cut-off communities.
The crisis in Sri Lanka has deepened since Cyclone Ditwaha brought torrential rain, flash floods and landslides to several provinces. On Monday, NDRF teams operating in Sedawatta and Nadigama safely evacuated a visually impaired elderly citizen and an injured woman, providing medical assistance at the spot. The Indian High Commission said on social media that Indian rescuers were continuing life-saving work in challenging conditions.
Operation Sagar Bandhu was launched on November 28 when the scale of destruction became clear. The Indian Navy also deployed INS Vikrant and INS Udaygiri, which delivered immediate relief supplies and conducted aerial surveys to speed up rescue operations. Helicopters from the ships helped locate survivors in remote pockets. INS Sukanya arrived in Trincomalee on December 1 and handed over critical emergency materials to Sri Lankan authorities.
The disaster’s toll continues to rise. According to the Disaster Management Centre, the death count has climbed to 465, while 366 people remain missing. More than 1.5 million residents have been affected and over 232,000 people are sheltering in relief camps. The government has declared 22 districts as national disaster zones as relief efforts intensify across the island.
