India, March 4 -- Pune Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde has arranged two special aircraft to evacuate 164 residents of the state including Pune students stranded in the United Arab Emirates following airspace disruptions triggered by the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict, his office said on Tuesday.

According to an official statement, the flights departed from Fujairah Airport at 3.30 pm and 4.30 pm local time and are expected to reach Mumbai later in the evening.

Those returning include 84 students from Pune's Indira School of Business Studies, along with residents from Thane, Ahilyanagar and Pune districts.

The deputy chief minister has been in contact with stranded citizens since hostilities escalated in West Asia over ...