RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: Students from Andhra Pradesh have sought the immediate help of the Indian government to evacuate them from the war zone in Ukraine. The students, put up in bunkers and underground metro stations, have run out of adequate food, water and other essential items.
Adding to their fears is the possibility of armed Ukrainian civilians harming them if they venture out of their redoubts to reach the western border. Manasa Singh Paamu, hailing from Bhimadolu in West Godavari and a second-year student of Zaporizhzhia State Medical University, had explained the hardships to her parents in WhatsApp videos, before going incommunicado 24 hours ago.
“There is no water and food here. There is no provision for a bathroom. There is no response from the Indian government and there is no information regarding our evacuation,” Manasa’s friend said in one of the videos. She added that they have been living in the bunker for the past four days. The government has been evacuating only those from the western region, the students alleged.
“They managed to shift 20-30 students and they are now claiming that they have evacuated all,’’ she said, adding there were 500-600 students from the two Telugu states in the university and they have been staying in bunkers under their flats and in metro stations.
“We are not in a position to stay here. The weather conditions are too harsh. Even the local citizens are fearing for their lives,’’ the students said. Another student alleged that Ukrainian civilians, who were provided arms, have been attacking indiscriminately.
“It is impossible for us to reach the borders. The Indian government should evacuate us. We have to travel nearly 1,400 km to reach the border which is impossible at this juncture,’’ they said while requesting immediate evacuation. Meanwhile, Manasa’s mother Sunitha Singh said she had not heard from her daughter for the past 24 hours. The last time Manasa contacted her, the student told her that the department store, too, had run out of food items.
Sunitha expressed hope that Manasa might have started their journey to the border. Meanwhile, Satya Bharati from Tanuku, mother of another fourth-year MBBS student Abhigna, said her daughter had boarded a train along with 20 other students on Tuesday.