As seven students, who were stranded in Ukraine, reached Bengaluru on Monday, parents of hundreds of students still in the war-torn country were trying all they could to ensure their children’s safe return.
Divyashree Nagaraj, mother of 19-year-old Suhani Girish, a student of Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, said her daughter is among a group of over 80 Indian students, aged between 19 and 23, who are stranded at the hostel in Lviv. Despite making numerous attempts to cross the border over the past few days, they were unsuccessful.
“Going to the border means a dangerous bus ride and a 25-km walk in the freezing cold. While many students have returned to the hostels, there are hundreds who are still at the border areas exposed to the biting cold,” she said.
On February 25, Ms.. Divyashree said many students travelled by bus to the Rava-Rus’Ka border checkpoint and walked over 8 km to get to the border area, only to be turned away since walk-in entry was not allowed.
They then walked 25 km to the Shehyni-Medyka border checkpoint and waited there for nearly 10 hours with no food or water, nor any shelter or restrooms. “When Ukranian border guards did not allow students to cross over, even threatening to confiscate and destroy their Indian passports, many returned to the hostel,” she said and added that after returning to the hostels, students have been hearing sirens.
She said though Indian nationals are being welcomed in Poland, Ukranians were not letting them cross over.
Meanwhile, efforts are being made by Indian community members in Germany to take Indian students from Ukraine, who have crossed over to Poland, to Germany.
Seif Sultan, who is currently in Mangaluru, is coordinating these efforts. He said that his extended family in Germany, along with the Indian community, had arranged accommodation and food for 100 students, apart from transportation from Poland to Germany. So far, 23 students have been safely transported to Germany.
“The Indian embassies in Poland, Hungary, and Russia are stretched and short-staffed. They are not able to respond to the needs of the thousands of Indian students still stranded in Ukraine, particularly Kharkhiv and Kyiv,” he said.
Many students, who are still waiting to be evacuated from the border areas, were running out of food and some have even complained of being robbed.
Mr. Sultan said that along with a few others, they have been able to collect details of 237 students, including passport numbers, hailing from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Kasaragod.
“We are getting desperate calls from parents who want their children back home safe and from distraught students who are stuck in the cold with no food or water,” he said.
Among the 45 students who have returned is Keerthana U.C., daughter of Chinnappa Gowda and student of Uzhhorod National Medical University. She returned on Monday, while 11 from Hassan district are still waiting to be evacuated from Ukraine.
“Many students are still stuck there. I am lucky that I got a chance to return early,” she said, and thanked the Indian embassy officials for their help.
Three more students – Himan Raj, Arpitha, and Dhanuja – are expected to reach India soon. They travelled by road for about 15 hours to reach Hungary, from where they would get a flight to India. The students are in constant touch with their parents and they have been sending videos of their places.
Former Prime Minister and Rajya Sabha member H.D. Deve Gowda has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar seeking help for the early return of students from Hassan stuck in Ukraine.
Mr. Deve Gowda also spoke to Sujatha, mother of Gagan Gowda, who is still stuck in Ukraine, over the phone and assured her that he would speak to people concerned. Ms. Sujatha said that her son had taken shelter in a bunker with no proper food and basic needs.
