HYDERABAD: For hundreds of Telangana students, who managed to reach home from Ukraine, the experience was more frightening than the worst nightmares they ever had. As they made progress towards the country's border and beyond to freedom, every moment they went through was nerve-wracking.
As Russian missiles pounded Ukraine, several students from Telangana spent sleepless nights. Some of them who were in hostels in Chernivtsi did not have anything to eat. Forget food, some did not even have water to quench their thirst after spending hours in bunkers.
After reaching Hyderabad, Laudia Priyanka from Secunderabad who is pursuing her MBBS in Ukraine, said: "Frankly, I did not have any hopes that I would make it to Hyderabad and see my parents. It was terrifying how Chernivtsi city was pounded. The deafening sounds still reverberate in my ears. I doubt if I can sleep peacefully in the coming days."
Relieved students worry about those left behind
"Once, the window panes of our rooms were shattered when our neighbourhood was hit. We ran to the parking lot as it appeared more safe than inside the room. We were scared. We in fact cried for help but there were no one," Priyanka recalled.
Another student, Kamana Bhanu Sree, a resident of Moula Ali, said that she breathed a sigh of relief only after she landed in Mumbai. She said that there was no food to eat, ATMs were running out of cash and they did not have money to buy and almost all shops were closed.
"The Indian Embassy arranged a bus for us from Chernivtsi border to Romania and it took three hours to reach there. We were only praying to God to keep us safe until we reach India. Many of our friends are still stranded in bunkers and we do not know what their fate is," she said.
That’s not all, some students had to walk kilometers to reach the border. Vishnu Vardhan, who walked for about 10 km in a temperature of minus 5 degree Celsius to reach the border, said that they were in trouble since the beginning of the Russian operation.
"The Indian Embassy informed us that we had to travel to the Polish border. We did not even receive transportation facility. After walking in freezing cold, a bus was provided. From there we reached the border area of Poland. From there we walked another 10 km to cross into Poland as we could not afford any taxi,” he said.