Russia says buses ready to take out Indians, India says not without ceasefire
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 04 Mar, 2022 10:09 AM
New Delhi, March 4 (IANS) With Russia state media reporting Russian authorities have arranged 130 buses for evacuation of Indian students from war-battered Sumy and Kharkiv in Ukraine, India on Friday said that pulling them out was not possible without a ceasefire as the gunfights and bombing are continuing in these areas.
Russian news agency TASS said that the Russia is ready to send 130 buses to evacuate stranded Indian students and other foreigners from war-torn Ukraine's Kharkiv and Sumy cities to its Belgorod Region, quoting top Russian military official Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev.
TASS had also said that this came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed the safe evacuation of Indians from the war-torn Ukraine.
Over 700 Indian students are stuck in Sumy and they are running out of basic necessities like food and water and they have been urging the Indian government to get them evacuated from there.
Meanwhile, the government sources said that the Indian officials have been deputed in Belgorod to make the necessary arrangements for the Indian nationals including students stuck in Sumy and Kharkiv and once the safe passage is provided or in case of ceasefire, they will be evacuated from these places.
India's prime concern is to evacuate its nationals from the conflict zones of Kharkiv and Sumy in eastern Ukraine, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi said.
High drama was witnessed on Thursday after 125 of 179 international passengers, who arrived at Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport Rajasansi, near here, from Italy, in an Air India flight tested positive on arrival. The Covid passengers were asked to quarantine in local hospital as per the guidelines of the government.
On Wednesday, The Prime Minister's rally in Ferozepur had to be cancelled due to a security lapse after some protesters blocked a route and forced his convoy to spend about 20 minutes on a flyover. The Prime Minister was enroute the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala when the incident happened.
Although the department has all infrastructural needs in place to deal with the large number of cases expected in case of the third wave becoming a reality, he also appealed to the people to get themselves fully vaccinated against the virus as it is the most potent tool to avoid Covid-19.
Regretting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to cancel his scheduled visit to Ferozepur midway, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said on Wednesday that there was no security lapse that led to the cancellation of the Prime Ministers visit to the bordering town.
Holding the Punjab government squarely responsible for the "gross security lapse" during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab, that eventually led to cancellation of all his programmes, former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday demanded dismissal of the government and imposition of President's rule.
With the spike in Covid-19 cases, Punjab on Tuesday imposed statewide night curfew daily from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and ordered closure of all educational institutions till January 15.
