Evacuation Picks Up Pace But Indian Students Stranded In Ukraine Are Running Out Of Food, Water
In the past few days, the Russian assault on Ukraine has intensified and it is likely to increase in the coming hours and days.
This has left several Indians who are still waiting to be evacuated from the war zone worried.
They say that they have been dealt a double blow - there is continuous bombardment and shelling and they are also fast running out of food and water.
¡°We have no food. We eat one slice of bread for a meal. We¡¯d have three at the most and have to spread it over the whole day,¡± Navyashree, a student who is stuck in an underground bunker in Kharkiv told The Times of India.
Out of desperation, some students reportedly started marching towards the nearest railway station risking their lives holding the Indian national flag.
"About 1,000 people, including 700 Indians, are marching towards the railway station holding the Indian flag. They are going to the railway station, which is seven kilometres from their bunker, by walk as no vehicles are available," Venkatesh Vaishyar father of one of the students told PTI.
Venkatesh's son Amit V Vaishyar is a fifth-year medical student in Kharkiv Medical College.?
Amit's cousin Suman, is also a student there and both of them are trying to return from the strife-torn country.
Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagouda, the 22-year-old who was killed in shelling when he moved out of the bunker to fetch some food, water and exchange currency was their junior in college.
"Students have no option but to take the risk as they don't have food and water. They are relying on God now and walking towards the railway station," Venkatesh said.
In other Ukrainian cities too there are similar stories.
More than 600 Indian students are currently stranded in a university located in Sumy, a city in north-eastern Ukraine.
According to Viraj Walde, from Nagpur who is currently studying in the fourth year medical course at Sumy State University, not a single Indian student has been evacuated from there so far.
'More than 600 Indian students are stuck here in Sumy university. The embassy has neither evacuated us nor given any assurance to that effect. Since the last five days, there has been continuous firing, shelling and bombing in the city,'' he told PTI.
The embassy has sent advisories to students, telling them to use only the western border of Ukraine and reach the neighbouring countries of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Moldova. But since Sumy city is located in the north-eastern part of Ukraine, it is impossible for them to travel all the way to the western part in the prevailing situation, he said.?
''The border in Ukraine's western part is located almost 1,500 kms away from Sumy, whereas the Russian border is just 50 kms away. The railway station in Sumy has also been closed due to bombing, and traveling via road is like committing suicide since Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting against each other at such places,'' he added.?
The military administration has told the students not to venture out because there is artillery shelling in the city, he said.
On Thursday, Denis Alipov, Russian Ambassador-designate to India said that his country has received India's requests for emergency evacuation of all those stuck there via Russian territory.
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