A day after at least 290 people were killed and hundreds more injured in eight blasts that rocked churches and hotels in and just outside Sri Lanka’s capital on Easter Sunday, Sri Lankan students in Pune are facing difficulty in contacting their parents in their home country.
Hariharan Ramamoorthy, 23, studying Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) at Modern College, Shivajinagar, was unable to contact his family in Colombo, in spite of repeated attempts.
“After the horrifying blasts, I tried to contact my family but was unable to do so because the Sri Lankan government has banned communication through telephone, apart from banning social media usage. This step has been taken to avoid miscommunications. Finally, by changing location on my mobile phone, I spoke to my family members once and was happy to know that they are safe,” said Ramamoorthy.
Atleast 80 Sri Lankan students are studying different courses in different Pune colleges, said one of the student. He also said that as many as 50 out of 80 had gone to Sri Lanka for summer holidays.
Sasikanthan Pravina,23, BBA student at Garware College has still not been able to talk to her parents in Nawalapitiya city. “I understand that we are not allowed to make a call by changing location also, now as the government has stopped it. I tried sending a voice and text message through social media but with no success. I am hoping my family is safe,” Pravina said.
{{/usCountry}}Sasikanthan Pravina,23, BBA student at Garware College has still not been able to talk to her parents in Nawalapitiya city. “I understand that we are not allowed to make a call by changing location also, now as the government has stopped it. I tried sending a voice and text message through social media but with no success. I am hoping my family is safe,” Pravina said.
{{/usCountry}}Chamod Dobby, second year student of B Sc Microbiology had similar experience and was unable to contact his family members on Sunday. “I was referring to local news website for details,” he said.
As the news of the blasts flashed across the country, Sri Lankan students in Pune cancelled Easter celebrations.