CHENNAI: Expediting the arrangements for bringing back Tamil students stranded in Ukraine and those who have taken shelter in the neighbouring countries of Ukraine, the State government on Thursday formed a special team of MPs and IAS officers. To date, 193 Tamil students have returned from Ukraine to Tamil Nadu and arrangements have been made to help them reach their native districts from Chennai.
The special team is comprised of MPs --- Trichy N Siva, Kalanithi Veerasamy and MM Abdulla and MLA TRB Raja. This team along with four IAS officers will visit Hungary, Romania, Poland and Slovakia which are neighbouring countries of Ukraine where students from Tamil Nadu have taken shelter now and make arrangements for bringing back the students. This committee will get in touch with the Indian embassies in these countries and expedite steps for bringing back the students.
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The decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister MK Stalin at the secretariat, an official release here said.
So far, the State Control Room for evacuating the Tamil Nadu students from Ukraine have received 3,025 telephone calls and 4,390 emails from the Tamil students and Tamil diaspora in Ukraine. Based on them, the details of 2,223 students have been given to External Affairs Ministry.
On behalf of the Tamil Nadu government, contacts have been established with the Tamil students in each State of Ukraine to ensure their safety and follow up action is being taken to rescue them at the earliest.
Also, following a request from the Tamil Nadu government, the Government of India has appointed Telecommunications Secretary K Rajaraman as the Coordination Officer for coordinating the efforts to bring back Tamil Nadu students from Ukraine.