NOIDA: "Sometimes I don't even feel like talking. I have posted a status on my Whatsapp that says 'I'm fine', although I'm not," says 24-year-old Prabhas Kumar, a medical student from Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur district who is stuck in conflict-hit Ukraine.
Like Prabhas, a fourth-year MBBS student at the Kharkiv National Medical University, many other students from UP and the rest of India are stranded in the eastern European country that has been invaded by Russia.
The students said they tried to find space in bomb shelters built by the local government but those were "too crowded" so they returned to their university hostel.
They want the Indian government to either evacuate them at the earliest or make some arrangements so that like other students from Middle East and other nations, they can also be shifted to "nearby, safer" countries such as Romania, Poland, Hungary.
When Russia announced the invasion earlier this week, they said several students who could afford the costly airfares left home for India, while the rest were left to fend for themselves in the face of "exorbitant" airline fares.
Like Prabhas, his college mates Kuldeep Kumar from Unnao, Vishal Yadav from Varanasi and Abhinav Patel, all aged between 22 and 24 years, are also stuck in the European nation as flight services stopped on Thursday.
"My father is in government service. I'm not upper-class. Rs 65,000 for a one-way flight is not reasonable. Had it been cheaper this situation would not have arisen," Prabhas told PTI over a phone call.
"Similar situation had happened during the COVID-19 pandemic also. Airlines like Fly Dubai, Turkish Airlines, Air Arabia, etc had cheaper tickets. I went home during winter break and the two-way tickets cost me Rs 44,000 but now it's Rs 65,000 for one way," he said.
Prabhas, who lived in a joint family in Jaunpur, said he keeps getting phone calls from family and he has to keep repeating to everyone that "I'm fine" even as uncertainty looms over his immediate future in conflict-hit Ukraine.
"Sometimes I don't even feel like talking to them. I have posted a status on Whatsapp that says 'I'm fine', although I'm not," Prabhas said.
Abhinav Patel, who is in fourth-year of MBBS, said the students could have left Ukraine earlier had they got flights at "reasonable" rates.
"Those with money left. Not everyone who is studying here is rich. They have somehow managed resources and come to study here. The government should help us. We are worried, our parents are worried," Patel, from Lucknow, told PTI.
Kuldeep Kumar, from Unnao, said normally two-way airfare from Ukraine to Delhi costs around Rs 25,000 but it shot up just ahead of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"The cost of an one-way Air India ticket was USD 800. One way. Students were shocked. Some managed to book Qatar Airways flights at relatively cheaper rates but then on February 24 we got to know that all flights have been cancelled," he claimed.
Kuldeep, who is also a fourth-year MBBS student, said there are around 1,500 Indian medical students in his university alone and urged the government to evacuate them or facilitate their entry to nearby, safer countries.
"Many students from other countries like Morocco, Jordan, Isreal and other Middle East nations have moved to nearby Romania, Poland, Hungary, etc. We urge our government either evacuate us or facilitate our entry to a safer country," he told PTI.
The UP government on Friday set up a dedicated helpline centre for people and students from the state who are stuck in Ukraine.
The government also appointed IAS officer Ranvir Prasad as nodal officer of this facility.
The helpline numbers are 0522-1070 and 9454441081.
The email id is rahat@nic.in, according to the UP government.