KAKINADA/RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: More than 20 students from East Godavari are trapped in war-torn Ukraine leaving their parents in a state of panic and worry. Adding to the parents’ anxiety is their inability to contact their children who are taking shelter in metro stations and bunkers.
“Since February 25, we have not been able to communicate with our children as their mobile phones are switched off due to lack of power supply to the bunkers,” some parents said. Others said their children had complained of hearing explosions and firings.
Rajesh and Nirmala, parents of Saga Shanmuga Eswar from Mummidivaram mandal, said their son told them that he heard explosions four times outside the metro station where he and his friends were placed, and the temperature was as low as -4 degrees Celsius.
"There is no way that they can go to border areas due to the bombings," Rajesh said, adding that he has pleaded for help from Amalapuram MP Chinta Anuradha, Mummidivaram MLA Ponnada Satish, Minister Pinipe Viswaroop and MLC Pandula Ravindra.
BVV Satyanarayana, Rishita’s father, said her daughter, a second-year MBBS student in Ukraine, could not call him the previous night as her phone ran out of battery even as she continued to hide in a dark bunker.
He appealed to the State and Central governments to ensure that the children get food and water. At 6.30 pm on Saturday (IST), Rishita contacted her father and told him that around 12 students were sheltered in a bunker. However, she complained of theft due to a shortage of food and other groceries.
Amid theft and cold weather, the students are also worried about an internet blackout with many in Ukraine losing internet connection as the Russia-Ukraine conflict worsens, according to reports.
Two girls from Tanuku town in West Godavari are MBBS students in Ukraine and their parents are worried about their daughters.
Tamalam Abhigjna, who is a fourth-year MBBS student at Karkhiv University, told her teacher father TJ Jaya Kumar that she was hiding in a metro station with 200 others, and they were running out of water.
“They have to come out of the bunkers to charge their phones and answer nature’s call. They found the dead body of a soldier on Thursday night,” Abhigjna parents said. They added their daughter had booked a flight ticket for February 25 anticipating the war.
“We expect that the Indian government takes initiative and rescues our children. Safe passage must be provided to the students leaving Ukraine.”