475 evacuees from Yemen arrive in Kochi onboard 2 ships

April 18, 2015

Kochi, Apr 18: Two Navy-escorted passenger ships with 475 people, including Bangladesh nationals and Yemenese of Indian origin, evacuated from the conflict-hit Yemen arrived here today, bringing down the curtains on the massive rescue operation undertaken by the government.

"MV Kavaratti and MV Corals with 475 people reached Kochi to a rousing welcome by Naval and Cochi Port Trust officials in presence of Naval band," a Navy spokesman said.

This is the last Indian evacuation from Yemen by the sea route. The two ships had left Djibouti on April 12.

The passengers arrived here included 337 Bangladesh nationals and 65 Yemenese of Indian Origin.

Officials from Bangladesh government are in the town to co-ordinate onward travel of their fellow nationals.

However, it is not clear what stand the government would take on the 65 Yemenese of Indian origin, Kerala government officials here said.

India had launched a massive air and sea evacuation operation late last month to bring back its nationals stranded in Yemen. The air evacuation concluded on April 9 after more than 4,700 Indians and nearly 1,000 foreign nationals belonging 41 countries were brought home.

In addition, Indian naval vessels have also evacuated over 1,670 Indians from Aden, Al Hudaydah and Al Mukalla ports in Yemen since March 31.

The two passenger ships, among the first to be tasked for evacuation by the government, had left here on March 30 and reached Djibouti six days later with armed naval commandos and naval escort on board.

The ships were escorted by a naval warship INS Tir till Kochi harbour after which they would be led into their respective berths by Fast Interceptor Crafts (FIC) of the Southern Naval Command.

NORKA and the district administration in coordination with Railways are overseeing the arrangements for onward travel of the Indians arriving by the ships.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Over 58 lakh names dropped from draft voter list in Bengal ahead of polls

News Network

December 16,2025

The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

Comments