Parents and grandparents welcome harrowed students at city airport as they return from war-torn Ukraine
The security was beefed up to manage the crowd that had turned up to receive the students in Mumbai. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Anxious parents and relatives thronged the Mumbai airport to receive the 219 students flown by Air India from Romania. The nervous tension at the venue quickly dissipated as the students made their entry. their entry. Emotions ran high as parents broke down on seeing their wards return to safety. The students were stranded in Ukraine after Russia invaded the eastern European nation last Thursday.
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Security was beefed up to manage the crowd that had turned up at the venue. Officers from CISF and Mumbai Police had to escort the students and their families out of the airport. Indubai Bhalerao, 74, said that despite her age, she wanted to receive her granddaughter Kashmira personally. “I was told to not come and wait for her at home, but I wanted to be here. Now, I am waiting for my grandson. Both the siblings had gone to Ukraine to pursue an MBBS degree.” Several states set up help desks to assist the arriving students. While the Gujarat government arranged two special buses, the Kerala government announced that their students will be escorted to Kerala Bhavan and will be flown out today.
Vedant Shinde a student from Latur, who was on the flight, said, “We were around 2,000 people [in Ukraine], including students and it was a scary time. However, there are just 250 people left to be evacuated. It was a chaotic situation. A few students weren’t even allowed to make phone calls or get out of their bunkers.” Union minister Piyush Goel was one of the first to enter the aircraft
and interacted with the students.
Airport preps for students’ return
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) had blocked a special area at the airport for the students where they were provided with free WiFi, food, and any guidance or medical assistance. Passengers were required to produce either a COVID-19 Vaccination Certificate or a negative RT-PCR Test report at the time of arrival.
219
No. of the students who returned on Saturday
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