10 tricity families spend sleepless nights

Tribune News Service

Deepankar Sharda

Chandigarh, February 26

With each passing second, the tick of the clock’s hand pricked Rozi Sood’s heart as she takes out her mobile phone and check on her 24-year-old daughter, who is stuck in Kharkiv amid frightened sounds of bomb shelling, lack of food and awaiting evacuation.

Rozi is not only one eagerly waiting for her daughter’s return. There are over 10 families from the tricity, who are having sleepless nights and tiring days awaiting early evacuation of their children from the eastern part of the war-torn Ukraine.

“They are running out of food and water. In Ukraine, one has to buy water from water stations. The Army has ‘shoot-at-sight’ orders and is not letting children come out of metro station-turned ‘bunkers’. Over 4,000 students are stuck in the zone. My daughter says as the Russian forces closes in the region, they may not be able to use the Internet. This can happen in no time. I am just praying for all’s wellbeing,” said Rozi.

Most of the Indian students stuck in the eastern part of Ukraine are the ones facing evacuation problems. The families of as many as 12 students from the tricity are running from pillar to post to get some news on evacuation.

“They are hearing regular shelling. I had a word with my daughter in the evening and she is in acute distress. The Indian government is evacuating students from the western and other parts, which is an appreciable step. However, the eastern part is the red-zone area and the worst affected. The Indian government should come up with a plan to evacuate students from Kharkiv and Kyiv,” said Harcharan, whose 20-year-old daughter is in Kharkiv.

Devastating moment

for family members

It was a devastating moment for some 10 families, whose children are stuck in Ukraine, when they reached to meet MP Kirron Kher to submit a memorandum for evacuation of their children. The family members were asked to come on Monday. Despite waiting for almost 30 minutes, the parents, who are already worried about their children’s life, failed to hear a single word of help from the local MP.

“We were given a mobile number, which remained unavailable. The staff asked us to come on Monday. We went to submit a memorandum for the evacuation of our children. A word of assurance could have worked,” said Fatehdeep Singh, whose 20-year-old son and 21-year-old daughter (both students of VN Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv) are stuck in Ukraine.

“We even tried to meet BJP state president Arun Sood, but he asked us to send the memorandum through WhatsApp. Later, we met Sanjay Tandon and he patiently listened to our grievances and helped us connect to some officials concerned. He was helpful. We will try to meet the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator on Sunday and will also submit the memorandum seeking his help in this matter. All we want is a safe passage for our children back to India,” said Singh.

Candle march at Sukhna Lake today

Pranamee Gandhi, a fourth-year MBBS student of Kharkiv National Medical University, will organise a candle march at Sukhna Lake on February 27 to draw the authorities’ attention towards the problems by Indian students. Pranamee, who was lucky enough to come back to India last month, is in regular touch with her friends. “My friends are stuck at metro stations and are facing acute problems. They have only one good thing — Internet facility — which is giving them high hopes. They are facing acute shortage of food and facing harsh winters without proper facilities. Indoor heating facility is already disrupted and they have been asked to stay wherever they are. Some circulars have been issued by the Indian Ministry, but there are no such announcements to evacuate the students,” said Pranamee, who stays in Chandigarh.

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