50 of over 230 students from NE in Ukraine back home
Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Mar, 2022 05:30 PM
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.
The Centre on Thursday announced the first instalment of a fiscal relief package, worth Rs 170,000 crore, to protect the weaker sections of the society from the economic fallout of Covid-19.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here on Thursday announced immediate distribution of 10 lakh packets of dry ration to daily wagers and unorganised labourers to help them during the curfew because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Urging the police personnel to exercise maximum restraint in the difficult situation, the Chief Minister asked them to find more compassionate ways of handling curfew violations, especially in cases of individuals found moving out for essentials.
A 63-year-old woman from Kangra who failed to disclose her travel history following her return from Dubai and was later tested positive for COVID-19 has been booked under Section 270 of the IPC, which carries a maximum imprisonment of upto two years.
In an unprecedented incident, a Mumbai man allegedly killed his younger brother for trying to step out of home during the ongoing 21-day lockdown period, police said here on Thursday.
