VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar over phone and sought the Centre’s support to bring back the stranded AP students from the war-hit Ukraine safely.
The Union Minister assured the Chief Minister that the Centre has been taking all possible measures to evacuate the stranded by relocating them to nearby countries and later shifting them to India. Jagan promised all support to the Centre to bring back the stranded AP students from Ukraine.
The External Affairs Minister spoke to the stranded students in Kharkiv and enquired about their well-being. He assured them that special flights will be sent to evacuate them and asked the students not to worry.
Earlier, Jagan chaired a high-level meeting to discuss ways and means of extending help to the Centre to bring back the AP people from Ukraine. He directed officials to establish communication with all those from the State who were stuck in Ukraine and take appropriate measures for their safety.
He also asked them to provide necessary information to the Centre pertaining to the AP people stranded in Ukraine. Further, he instructed the authorities to set up control rooms at the district level and collect details of the stranded students. The officials informed him that they are in constant touch with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and AP Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS) to ensure the safe return of stranded students from Ukraine.
Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, AP Bhavan Resident Commissioner Praveen Prakash, Government Advisor Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy and Special Officer (International Cooperation) A Gitesh Sarma attended the meeting.
Soon after the meeting, control rooms were set up at the Secretariat and district collectorates to collect details of the people stranded in Ukraine and coordinate with the MEA and the Ukraine embassy in New Delhi to bring them back safely.
Briefing the media, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma said a task force committee has been constituted to bring back the stranded students from Ukraine.
The committee comprises Principal Secretary (Transport) MT Krishna Babu (chairperson), Special Officer (International Cooperation) Gitesh Sarma (member convenor), AP Dairy Development MD A Babu, AP Bhavan Additional Resident Commissioner Himanshu Kaushik, Rythu Bazaar CEO Srinivasulu, APNRTS CEO K Dinesh Kumar and all district collectors. “The committee will coordinate with all stakeholders and function till all the stranded are evacuated from Ukraine, he explained.
A dedicated toll-free number 1902 has been set up, besides helplines 0863-2340678, +91-8500027678 (WhatsApp group) and https://www.apnrts.ap.gov.in. “Parents of the students stranded in Ukraine can furnish their details to tahsildars, who in turn will pass on the information to the State officials,” he said and added the MEA has arranged four teams to help the stranded from AP.
Govt forms task force committee
A task force committee has been constituted to bring back the stranded students from Ukraine, Chief Secretary Sameer Sarma said. To be headed by Prinicipal Secretary MT Krishna Babu, it will coordinate with all stakeholders and function till all the stranded are evacuated