ALAPPUZHA: Stranded Malayali students in Ukraine are seeking the speedy intervention of the Central government to save them from the bomb shelters where they have been staying for the past two days. Aswin Prasad, a final-year undergraduate student of Kharkiv National Medical University, on Friday said, “We are still in the bunker of the college hostel.
Most of the areas in the city do not have power supply. Bombings can be heard from everywhere. Nearly 20 Indians, including Malayalis, and several students from various countries are in the bunker,” said Aswin, a native of Kottamukal near Adoorin Pathanamthitta. Aarya, a first-year undergraduate student of Zaporizhzhia State Medical University, said the sound of bombings could be heard from distant places.
“The Indian Embassy said we will be transported to Romania and be ready to move anytime. We have also heard that the embassy and other agencies have arranged 11 buses to transport Indians to Romania, around 1,200km from the city. Night curfew has been declared in the city. Maybe, by midnight or early morning tomorrow, we may be shifted to Romania,” said Aarya, a native of Ernakulam.
Students staying in the capital city of Kyiv and Kharkiv are facing more problems as there are heavy shelling and bombing in the Russian bid to capture the capital. Jithina, a final-year undergraduate student of Kyiv Medical University, said, We are in the bunker and there is no drinking water, food or electricity in the bunker. So, we cannot charge our mobile phones. The authorities have not made any taken positive steps to save us because the city has been witnessing intense fighting,” Jithina said.
Diya Anna, a third-year degree student of Sumy National Agrarian University and a native of Vallikunnam near Kayamkulam, said around 40 Malayalis are staying along with other students in the hostel bunker.
“The fear of war is comparatively less here than in Kyiv or Kharkiv, because Sumy is in the west sharing the border with Russia and resistance against Russian troops is less here. Hence, people from other parts of the country are moving into the city. However, that has created a shortage of food and drinking water,” Diya said.