Anxious parents of students stranded in war-torn Ukraine have urged the Centre to focus on evacuation of Indians holed up in bunkers and metro stations in Kyiv and Kharkiv where the battle has intensified.
There is growing concern among parents after Naveen S. Gyanagoudar, a student of Kharkiv National Medical University, was killed on Tuesday in a shelling by the Russian armed forces a few metres away from the bunker where he and his friends were holed up for the past six days. Parents are now demanding the evacuation efforts focus on active war zones of Kyiv and Kharkiv.
K. Shivakumar last heard from his daughter S. Aisiri, who was in Kyiv, on Monday. Union Ministers have been sent to oversee the evacuation of Indians who have already reached the Ukraine border with Poland, Moldovia, Hungary etc. ‘’But who will oversee the evacuation of students holed up in Kyiv and Kharkiv?” he asked.
Aisiri, a student of Kharkiv National Medical University, boarded a train from Kyiv to western Ukraine to reach the border. Mr. Shivakumar said he had not been able to contact her for almost 24 hours. “From what Aisiri told me, the situation is grim, with food running out. The crisis, she said, was intensifying,” he said.
Mr. Shivakumar said some of the parents of students stranded in Ukraine have networked and are regularly in touch with each other offering hope and courage to each other.
K.K. Manjunath from Kushalnagar, father of Chandan M. Gowda, also a student of Kharkiv National Medical University, is another concerned parent. “It is fine that the evacuation is on; but evacuation of stranded students is happening only in western Ukraine bordering Poland, Romania, Moldovia etc. and where there are no hostilities at present,” he said.
Chandan also boarded a train from Kharkiv at 6 a.m. local time on Tuesday and is expected to reach the Polish border only on Wednesday. Mr. Manjunath said he too had not heard from his son since he boarded the train.
“Chandan said they no longer felt safe in the bunkers nor was there any guarantee of reaching the borders safely. Besides, Ukranian senior citizens and women are reportedly being given priority to cross the border. I asked him to seize the first opportunity to leave Kharkiv,” he said, while monitoring news on the television.
Mr. Manjunath said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have first sought safe passage of all Indians in Ukraine, particularly those in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
Seif Sultan, who is coordinating with Indian communities in Poland and Germany to rescue students who have crossed the Polish border, said many parents were now more worried about their children’s safety. Many students were also stuck in Mykolaiv. The parents were now planning to meet Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to urge him to pressure the union government to evacuate students stuck in the active war zones in Ukraine.
