50 of over 230 students from NE in Ukraine back home

Guwahati/Shillong, March 2 (IANS) Around 50 students out of over 230 students of three northeastern states - Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya, who were stranded in war-torn Ukraine, have returned to India so far, ministers and officials said on Wednesday.

Assam Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua has directed the district administrations to reach out to parents of students stranded in Ukraine.

An official in Guwahati said that the Assam government so far prepared a list of 160 such students and the process of evacuating them has been going on in coordination with the External Affairs Ministry.

He said that four more students from Assam arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday, taking the total number of returnees from Ukraine to 32.

Thanking the Prime Minister's Office and the MEA, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, in a tweet, said that 12 students from his state studying in Ukraine have reached India safely, six are on way to Delhi and nine are enroute to the border.

Another Eleven students have reached safely in neighbouring countries and will be flown back to India soon, the Chief Minister said.

Tripura Chief Secretary Kumar Alok said that District Magistrates and Sub-Divisional Magistrates in all the districts have physically contacted family members of 33 students who are studying in Ukraine. He said that five students have reached India and 24 have crossed the Ukraine border and are on their way to India while four are still in Ukraine but they remained safe.

The Centre is making all arrangements for them, he added.

The state governments of most of the northeastern states are in constant touch with the MEA to safely evacuate the stranded students and other citizens of these states in Ukraine.

The government is trying to bring back Indians stranded in war-torn Ukraine by asking them to cross into neighbouring countries from where they are flown back by special aircraft to the country.