KOLKATA: Young Kolkatans holed up in tube stations and makeshift bunkers across Ukraine are set to undertake a perilous, cross-country journey to safety, braving Russian bombs and missiles, to reach Poland.
After spending a long and frightful night underground, the men and women from various parts of Kolkata — some just out of their teens — who are studying at medical colleges in various Ukrainian cities returned to their hostel rooms and rented apartments to pack up essentials before setting off on what promises to be the ‘adventure' of a lifetime.
After being petrified by the bombings all through Thursday night, none of them is sure of what lies in store. "The situation here has spiralled out of control over the last two days," said Neha Khan. Khan, who hails from Durgapur, is a third-year student at the Ivano Frankivsk National Medical University, around 600km from Kyiv. "Last night, there were air strikes in our area and we could see buildings ablaze," she recounted, hurriedly packing her bags. We were told to switch off all lights. Streetlights, too, were switched off. It is unsafe to stay here. The Indian embassy has said they can help us only if we reach the Poland border. Hence, 30 of us have arranged for a bus to travel to the border, from where embassy officials have promised to receive us."
Around 365km away, Anubhav Chandel from Dum Dum was also bracing for the hazardous journey to the Polish border in a hired vehicle. "Five of us have arranged for the trip. We know it is risky but it will be better than being stuck in a never-ending nightmare," said Chandel.
With thousands of foreigners and Ukrainians travelling towards the porous borders, massive traffic jams were reported from different parts of the country. A 400km journey that used to earlier take five hours is now taking more than 18 hours because of the snarls.
According to Pushpak Swarnakar, a Sonarpur resident who's a fifth-year student at Ternopil National Medical University, around 400km from the Poland border, what used to be a $20 ride is now costing $400-$500. "It's a grave situation. Internet connectivity is becoming dodgy, and there are chances of drinking water being contaminated. We have been told to avoid internet banking, as there are chances of cyber attacks," said Swarnakar, who, along with other students, spent the night in a hostel bunker following the mayor's message about a possible targeted airstrike on the city, which later turned out to be a false alarm.
While those in other cities are contemplating a daring escape, students stuck in Kyiv said they couldn't even think of getting out of the bunkers, forget leaving the hostel premises, as military tanks rolled down the road and the army patrolled the streets.
"We could see and hear missiles in the air and the fire and dust that followed explosions, something we had only seen in movies. The World War II bunkers are possibly the only safe place for civilians like us in this city, where we are staying with limited rations and even attended an online class. But we cannot live like this for weeks. The government should do something to rescue us," said Sushovan Bera, a third-year student at Kyiv Medical University, who's from Pingla, West Midnapore.
