21 students stranded at Chernivtsi, narrate ordeal
Darpan News Desk IANS, 28 Feb, 2022 11:30 AM
New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) A group of 21 Indian students of Chernivtsi National University are still stranded in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. The students are afraid as they have been told that local autnorities have issued shoot at site order as the Russia-Ukraine war has escalated.
Of the 21 students, 11 are girls and 10 boys who are stranded at Chernivtsi.
Girl students were also harassed and beaten by Ukrainian Police guards.
Speaking to IANS, Priya, one of the students, said Indian students were stranded in Ukraine and needed help.
"For last four days we have been eating only three to four spoons of rice. Now the Embassy has asked us to board a train on our own risk to move out of the town. We somehow reached Chernivtsi and have spent nearly Rs 2.5 lakh so far. No train was available and we are losing hope," she told IANS.
She narrated the ordeal, saying Indian students were stranded on the roads.
She said Indian students like her were running out of money, food and now their lives were also at risk.
"We are roaming on the road and can meet with any fate. We need help," she told IANS while requesting to make arrangements of any kind of help.
The students also shared a video with IANS narrating how they travelled to Kiev, Lviv, Dnipro and reached Chernivtsi. They said no one was ready to help them out and were unable to cross the border as it was shut down by 8 p.m.
The students want urgent intervention of the Union Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister's Office to save their lives.
Indian government has launched 'Operation Ganga' and as of now have sent four flight to bring students back in India. The fourth flight was sent on Sunday afternoon.
India is working out evacuation plans for Indian nationals stranded in Ukraine through Romania, Hungary and Poland. The Foreign Secretary also stated that flight options will available from Dubai and Istanbul and the Indian Embassy continues to be operational in Ukraine.
The Madhya Pradesh government said on Friday that 46 students from the state who registered with the Chief Minister's helpline are safe in Ukraine. However, it is not known exactly how many students from the state are stranded in the war-hit country.
The announcement came shortly after President Vladimir Putin authorised a "special military operation" in the conflict-hit Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. Flights to Kiev, Dnepr, Lvov and Odessa airports "are restricted due to potential hazard for civil aviation
The United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday that the situation was quickly deteriorating after Russia's invasion. It appealed to neighbouring countries to keep their borders open to people seeking a safe haven.
There are an estimated 25,000 Indian students in Ukraine alone who are pursuing medicine, engineering, and science courses. More than 2,500 students from Tamil Nadu are estimated to be studying in Ukraine.
The Foreign Secretary stated that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken to his Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, and Slovakian counterparts for setting up a camp at border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. He also stated that flight options are available through Dubai and Istanbul and that the Indian Embassy continues to be operational in Ukraine.
