The worried parents on Friday approached MoS External Affairs and Education RK Ranjan Singh to evacuate and bring them back to India safely
TFM Desk
At least 14 students from Manipur are among 18,000 Indians stranded in Ukraine as Russian forces launch an attack by land, air and sea on the former Soviet republic. The worried parents of the stranded students from Manipur studying at various universities in Ukraine on Friday approached MoS External Affairs and Education RK Ranjan Singh to evacuate and bring them back to India safely.
The parents told the MoS that their wards could not leave Ukraine on time due to various reasons and the main reason being immediate closure of the airspace due to the present situation in the country.
Earlier these students tried to leave Ukraine for Hungary or Poland by road. However, their attempt proved futile as borders were sealed before they made it, said the parents.
Seeking the details of steps being taken up by the government of India for their safe return, the parents of these young students, who are mostly pursuing their medical courses in Ukraine, urged the External affairs Ministry “to initiate the necessary proceedings and help them at this time of urgency and emergency.”
Meanwhile, MoS RK Ranjan told the media that nearly 18,000 Indians, mostly students, are stranded in Ukraine. Assuring to take all possible efforts to bring them back safely, he said the MEA is in touch with them and extending all possible help. He also said the Ministry has set up a dedicated 24X7 control room to provide assistance and information to Indians in Ukraine.
Today afternoon more than 470 students will exit the Ukraine and enter Romania through the Porubne-Siret Border. We are moving Indians located at the border to neighbouring countries for onward evacuation. Efforts are underway to relocate Indians coming from the hinterland. pic.twitter.com/iLFTWHifpm
— India in Ukraine (@IndiainUkraine) February 25, 2022
India has identified safe routes that they plan to use to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine. “The safe routes have been identified. By road, if you go from Kyiv, you would reach Poland in nine hours and Romania in nearly 12 hours. The road has been mapped out,” said Harsh Vardhan Shringla, India’s Foreign Secretary.
According to media reports, India is planning two flights for Bucharest today and one flight to Budapest tomorrow as chartered flights by Air India to bring back those stranded.
India has sent government teams to Ukraine’s borders from Hungary and Poland to evacuate the citizens who are still stuck in the country. The officials are travelling via land, as the Ukrainian airspace has been closed amid an onslaught by the Russian military, said the reports.