Students urge govt to expedite evacuation

Students from Tamil Nadu staying in Kharkiv, an Ukranian city close to Russian border, are in constant fear as that country is being bombarded by Russian forces. They have been sending messages via different social media seeking help from Centre for immediate and safe evacuation from the war-torn country.

“We could hear the sound of continuous bombing and airstrike on the outskirts of our city (Kharkiv). We are hiding in the underground chamber of our hostels and our friends outside the hostels have taken shelter in underground metro stations,” Kirubakaran Sundar Rajan, studying third year MBBS at Kharkiv National Medical University, told DT Next.

“Ukraine forces seem to have given a strong reply to Russian forces and have managed to thwart their attempt to take over Kharkiv so far,” said Kirubakaran. However, staying in basements is an issue due to intense cold. Temperature dipped to -2 degrees Celsius on Thursday night. “There were no heaters in chambers. No amount of clothing can prevent the intense cold,” he said.

Another student Rajiv, also from Kharkiv, sent a video in which he said that the Embassy had informed that arrangements have been made for their evacuation through Hungary and Poland. But, there is no information about students studying in Kharkiv. “There are no transport available to evacuate us. The bombs are still raining in Kharkiv and Indian government should take steps to evacuate us. There are a lot of Tamil students staying in underground metro stations running out of food,” he said.