Most of the Indian students stranded in war-ravaged Ukraine were still holed up in the bunkers as of Saturday evening.
In a message to her parents from a bunker, Reddy Nomula Satya Sreeja, a first-year medical student of Kharkiv National Medical University, who hails from Pendurthi in Visakhapatnam, said she was safe, and no attempts had so far been made to evacuate them from Ukraine.
‘Message from embassy’
My daughter had received a message from the Indian embassy, asking the students to try to go to the border of Poland or Hungary, said Arjuna Rao, father of Ms. Sreeja.
“But the road trip takes about 12 to Poland and 16 hours to Hungary. It is still risky as fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian forces is still raging,” said Mr. Arjuna Rao.
“It is learnt that communication has also now become difficult as signal jammers have been installed,” he added.
‘The contractor who supplies food to the Indian students in the university, Hardeep Singh, has apparently advised the students to send text messages only, as speaking over phone can reveal their location,” said Mr. Arjuna Rao.
While making efforts to find a way to travel to Poland or Hungary, the students, he said, decided to wait till the war subsided.
“As of now there is no shortage of food or water, and Mr. Hardeep Singh has assured us that he will continue to cater to the students’ needs till the stocks last. There is no issue of power cut also. But we are keeping our fingers crossed and waiting for an early rescue of our children,” Mr. Arjuna Rao said.
Control room in Kakinada
Meanwhile, in Kakinada, a control room was set up in the Collectorate to facilitate the evacuation of people and students stranded in Ukraine, an official release issued by East Godavari Collector Ch. Hari Kiran said. The family members of those who were stuck in the trouble-torn nation and hailing from East Godavari district were advised to dial 180042-53077, or 98499-03862 (District Revenue Officer) for assistance.
