10 students from state stranded in Ukraine

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Worried parents from Karnataka have urged the Centre and the state government to find an alternate route for safe return of their children from Ukraine.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said at least 10 students of the state are stranded in Ukraine, and the government is working with the Indian Embassy there and Ministry of External Affairs to bring them back home safely. A group of students, who are currently staying in a hostel located at Zaporizhzhya city in southeastern Ukraine, said on Thursday that the place is currently safe.

“We are safe here and only the bordering areas have been destroyed by the bombers. The airports have been closed in the capital so the situation is a bit bad there,” said Abhishek, a resident of Bengaluru who is currently pursuing MBBS at the State University in Zaporizhzhya.

“Last week, the Indian Embassy here spoke to the university over the impending war. But the university insisted we stay here as the offline classes will start soon. We are first year students and landed here in December last year. As we had not received the Temporary Residence Permit card (TRC), we were expecting it to be issued when the war broke out. Our families back in Bengaluru are worried for our safety,” Abhishek said. 

Subbaiah, another student who is also from Bengaluru, said that there were about 20,000 students from India, and 5,000 of them left for India after the news of an imminent war started circulating.

“The place where we stay hasn’t been affected by the war. But the people live in fear of being attacked. We are in constant touch with our parents and guardians,” he said.

A resident of Yelahanka in Bengaluru, Mahesh, is also among the group. “The University had issued a notification a few weeks back asking the Indians to return to their native for a temporary time. Me and my friends had planned to return in March. Then the State Medical University asked us to wait until March 9 as the offline classes were on the verge of resuming. Now they have asked us to be safe in the hostel and store groceries and essentials,” said Mahesh.

Parents of Suchitra Mallanagowda, an MBBS student from Vijayapura district worry for their daughter’s safety and have urged the Centre and State government to ensure that all the stranded students be brought back safely to India.