CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Thursday urged the Union government to immediately evacuate around 5,000 students and other emigrants from the state now stranded in Ukraine. Most of these students are doing professional courses in Ukraine.
In a letter to external affairs minister S Jaishankar, the chief minister cited the media reports about the Russian military moving into Ukraine in the early hours on Thursday. “We have been receiving hundreds of distress calls from family members of students studying in Ukraine requesting for urgent evacuation. However, it has come to our notice that airports in Ukraine are closed. They are in need of our support to be brought back to India safely,” he said.
The state government has opened 24x7 help desks and appointed a nodal officer to facilitate evacuation of stranded Tamils in Ukraine and to coordinate with the Union government, their families and district administration.
Stalin urged the Centre to nominate a nodal officer for coordination with the state government given the high number of Tamils in Ukraine. “The Union government should arrange for special mission flights to evacuate stranded Tamils from various parts of Ukraine. I solicit your urgent action in this regard,” the chief minister said.
In a statement, the state government announced the appointment of commissioner of rehabilitation and welfare of non-Tamils, Jacintha Lazarus, as state nodal officer. The state emergency operations centre can be reached at toll-free helpline 1070, Jacintha Lazarus at 9445869848/9600023645/9940256444, 044-2815288. Helpline desk at Tamil Nadu House, New Delhi can be reached at 9289516716, email – ukrainetamils@gmail.com
