CHENNAI: A special team of MPs, MLA, and IAS officers from Tamil Nadu will be visiting Hungary, Romania, Poland, and Slovakia — the countries neighbouring Ukraine — to facilitate the return of Tamil students who have taken shelter there.
The decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister MK Stalin at the Secretariat. An official release here said 193 Tamil students have so far returned from Ukraine to the State, and arrangements have been made to help them reach their native districts from Chennai.
The special team includes Rajya Sabha MPs Trichy N Siva, MM Abdulla, Lok Sabha MP Kalanithi Veerasamy, and MLA TRB Raja. This team, along with four IAS officers, will visit the countries and get in touch with the Indian embassies there to expedite steps for bringing back the students to Tamil Nadu.
Govt in touch with Tamils all across Ukraine
So far, the State control room working for the evacuation from Ukraine has received 3,025 phone calls and 4,390 emails from the Tamil students and Tamil diaspora in Ukraine. Based on them, the details of 2,223 students have been given to the Centre.
On behalf of the State government, contacts have been established with the Tamil students in each State of Ukraine to ensure their safety, and work is on to rescue them. Following a request from the State government, the Centre has appointed Telecommunications Secretary K Rajaraman as the Coordination Officer for coordinating the efforts to bring back the Tamil students.
Meanwhile, Stalin has urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to provide MEA clearance for the team from TN . In a letter, he said, “The students are stranded on the eastern border of Ukraine in places like Kharkiv and Sumy where the situation is reported to be critical. Most of them have taken shelter in bunkers and metro stations, and are facing extreme and uncertain conditions. They may run out of food and water if the situation persists.”