Indian embassy in Ukraine tells students to reach Budapest

Indian students get assistance from Red Cross Ukraine in coordination with Indian World Forum, in Sumy on Sunday. Pic/ANI

The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Sunday asked students staying in their own accommodations to reach the Hungarian capital Budapest. Earlier in the day, it requested those stranded to share their details. "All Indian nationals who still remain in Ukraine are requested to fill up the details contained in the attached Google Form on an URGENT BASIS. Be Safe Be Strong," it tweeted.

"Important Announcement: Embassy of India begins its last leg of Operation Ganga flights today. All those students staying in their OWN accommodation (other than arranged by Embassy) are requested to reach @Hungariacitycentre , Rakoczi Ut 90, Budapest between 10 am-12 pm," it said.

The message came even as hundreds of Indian students are holed up in bunkers in Sumy near the Russian border. Several Indian students stranded in Sumy said they were "confused" whether to continue their journey to the Russian border after the Ministry of External Affairs urged them to avoid taking unnecessary risks.

An Indian student meets her family members at the Delhi airport, after being evacuated from Ukraine. Pic/ANI

"We had already started moving after we gave up hope on the government coming to our rescue. But now with the new advisory, we are confused whether we should take the risk at all. I am so so scared," said Md Nizamuddin Aman, a first-year MBBS student at Sumy State University.

As evacuation from the shelling-battered city remains a challenge for Indian authorities, the students said they could no longer cope with the nail-biting cold, depleting food supplies and having to melt snow to get drinking water.

Relax rules for med students: Varun Gandhi

BJP MP Varun Gandhi on Sunday said that medical students returning from Ukraine should be structurally integrated into Indian institutions, while suggesting that the NRI quota be utilised for them. Underlining that the war has mentally broken the students, Gandhi said, "We have to accommodate these students in Indian institutions by relaxing rules."

700
No. of students still stranded in the eastern city of Sumy

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