NEW DELHI: The students stuck in Ukraine have claimed that many of their friends from different universities have gone ‘missing’ and they have been unable to contact them. Some families back in India have also lost touch with their children pursuing MBBS in Ukraine.
Ashita Bhardwaj, a student of Donestk National Medical University, is missing since two days. According to her elder sister, who is a teacher by profession in Delhi, Ashita could not be contacted, nor did she get in touch with her family.
“She was trying to reach the Poland border but we have not been able to track her,” the elder sister added. According to Sahil Lathwal, a student at Kharkiv National Medical University, several students from his university have gone missing and their college WhatsApp group is regularly being updated with the updates of these persons.
“Prem Singh, a sixth-year MBBS student (named changed) from Haryana, who was studying at our university, has gone missing and his phone is unreachable for the last two days. We are calling him non-stop but the network is also bad here,” said Sahil from Kharkiv.
Another student from Vinnytsia National Pirogov Medical University called Abdul (name changed) is also untraceable for the last two days. His friends were unable to contact him as his phone did not work. “We have posted his details on various social media platforms and are asking for his whereabouts. Hope we find him soon,” said his friend Saurav (name changed) studying in the same university. Abdul was on his way towards Poland border and couldn’t be tracked later.
According to Sandeep Kaur, a student who was able to cross the Poland border and is now waiting to fly back to India, many students headed for the Ukraine-Poland border lost their phones on the way and the border security forces snatched the phones of some of these students.
Short takes
350 from Bihar still in Ukraine
Patna: A total of 350 students from Bihar are still stranded in Ukraine, leaving their family members high and dry. The highest 64 students stuck in Ukraine were from East Champaran district. Patna has 38 students followed by Katihar, 19, Purnia, 17 and Sitamarhi, 15, respectively. The remaining were from districts like Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Siwan and Nawada. In all, 83 students returned homes safely in three days.
MP, Polish envoy exchange barbs
New Delhi: A war of words ensued between Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and Poland’s Ambassador to India over a tweet stating denial of entry of Indian students from war-hit Ukraine. On Monday, Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted tagging the Indian Embassy in Poland over the issue, which was swiftly replied refuting the stated claim. The Polish envoy also tweeted about the efforts made by the Polish government.
Cong wants parl meet convened
New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday demanded that the government convene an all-party meeting on Ukraine to appraise the parliamentarians about the situation. “At such a crucial time in history, PM Modi should convene an all-party parliamentary meeting on the war. Such a dialogue will help the government take the best possible step forward,” said Gaurav Gogoi, party deputy leader in the Lok Sabha.
90% of students abroad fail to qualify in India: Minister
New Delhi: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi claimed 90 per cent of Indians, who study medicine abroad, fail to qualify in exams in India. His remarks came as one medical student died in Ukraine on Tuesday, while thousands are stranded even as the government tries to evacuate them. The union minister said, “This was not the time to debate over the matter of why students went abroad to study medicine.”