A steady stream of students from different parts of the State, stranded in the war-hit Ukraine, and evacuated by the Indian government as part of ‘Operation Ganga, continued to arrive on Thursday with many of them narrating horrifying tales of mindless destruction by the Russian troops. As on Thursday evening (6.30 p.m.), a total of 196 Telugu students were brought back by the State government which had been taking care of the returnees’ onward journey from Delhi and Mumbai airports to their respective destinations in the State. As many as 769 students in Ukraine are in touch with the State authorities, waiting to be evacuated and brought back home safely.
Social media played key role
“Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook were of immense use for the Indian embassy to reach out to the students in need of help. We were scrupulously following the advisories posted on these social media platforms,” said Mylavarapu Sravan Kumar, a medical student from Vijayawada, who arrived at the Gannavaram airport from Hyderabad.
Others with him were Sk. D. Shah and Korrapati Sai Akash from Vijayawada, Tumu Praveen from Eluru and Allamsetti Bhanu Prakash from Guntur. “In the last few days, evenings specially had become very scary as we all would rush into bunkers or basements at the sound of the siren,” recalled one of them. Food, they said, was not much of an issue as they had stocked up enough stuff soon after tension between the two countries started escalating. Likhit Rahul from Hanumakonda is pursuing his final year of medicine in Ukraine. “I would have completed my course in two more months and received my degree. Initially I was keen on staying back, as I did not want to land in an uncertain situation with regard to my education. But as the days passed, the situation worsened and one had no option but to leave the place,” he said ruefully.
Efforts to be expedited
With the presence of the State representatives in the bordering countries of Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia for better coordination of the evacuation process and more number of flights joining ‘Operation Ganga’, the government in the State is hopeful that efforts to bring back Telugu students and residents safely could be expedited.
