HYDERABAD: Both the parents in Telangana and their wards in Ukraine are worried over what lies in store for them with Russia advancing into several parts of the country and continuing air raids. They are hoping against hope that the crisis would blow over soon as a war would make life much more difficult for them. They are staying put in universities where they are studying, hoping for better days. They are following all the advisories being put out by the Indian Embassy.
Lakshmi Srilekha, a student pursuing her MBBS at a university in eastern Ukraine said: “There are about 500 Telugus here. But all of us are confined to the four walls of our rooms in our hostels. Though it is a full-scale war on Ukraine, for the moment we are safe. We are trying to buy as much food as possible as we do not know how tomorrow would be,” she said.
Serpentine queues at ATMs, grocery stores
Most of the students were making a beelines to ATMs and grocery stores in various cities in Ukraine, as only cash was being accepted in various cities and people were in a hurry to stock their supplies. Jagruthi, another Telugu-speaking student who was at a grocery store on Thursday morning, said that they were informed that the drinking water supply in their hostel could be disrupted anytime. “Now I am buying as many water bottles as possible,” she said.
“As of now, we are not experiencing any issues, even though parts of Ukraine have been invaded by Russia. Ukrainian government has assured all support to the people and that civilians wouldn’t be attacked. I want to send a message to our families that we are all safe and there is nothing to be worried about as of now,” she said.