E-Paper
First batch of 32 Himachal students returns from Ukraine
The first batch of 32 students hailing from Himachal Pradesh, who were stuck in the war-torn country of Ukraine, landed at the Delhi Airport in a special flight on Sunday evening
The first batch of 32 students hailing from Himachal Pradesh, who were stuck in the war-torn country of Ukraine, landed at the Delhi Airport in a special flight on Sunday evening.
The Himachal Pradesh government deployed buses to ferry the returnees back to their home districts including Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Kangra, Chamba, Hamirpur, Sirmaur and Bilaspur.
The state government has compiled a list of 130 students who are stuck in Ukraine, but the number could be higher.
The concern about the stranded students was also raised during the ongoing budget session of the Himachal Pradesh assembly and chief minister Jai Ram Thakur personally raised the issue with the ministry of external affairs. The Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civil aircraft operations since February 24, when the Russian military offence began. Therefore, the Indian evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest, Romania, and Budapest, Hungary.
Those returnees said that the situation in Ukraine is grim, particularly in the main cities. “War is destructive where one does not know what will happen next. But, at the same time we were confident that the central and state governments will make provisions for the safe return of our children,” said Vimla, a parent.
“Students stranded there are not safe and we are worried about them and the government should bring them back as well. There was nothing to panic about in the western region of the country, but the situation is grave in the eastern part, which is bearing the brunt of the Russian offence. Ambulance sirens and explosions can be heard and our friends have narrated horrifying tales,” said Kashish.
With India launching evacuation flights from countries bordering Ukraine, parents of the stranded students are worried. They say that students are facing difficulties in moving in buses to neighbouring countries because of air attacks and shelling by Russia.
Ramesh Chand, HP deputy director of health, whose son Rahul Kumar is a third-year medical student at VN Karazin Kharkiv Medical University in Ukraine, said, “There is a problem with the movement of vehicles in the second biggest town of Kharkiv . It is difficult for my son and his colleagues to reach the eastern border. I am regularly in touch with him.”
