32 Jammu locals stranded in Ukraine, kin seek immediate rescue

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, March 2

Parents of the students stranded in Ukraine due to the Russian military offensive have demanded immediate evacuation of their wards.

Deputy Commissioner Anshul Garg said the district administration was in touch with the families of the 32 stranded people of Jammu in Ukraine. He said the government was taking all possible measures for their safe return.

Parents gathered at the Press Club in Jammu and staged a protest, demanding early evacuation of their children. Rajinder Pal Singh, whose son Gurpreet Pal Singh awaits evacuation, said he phoned his son on Tuesday evening. “I appeal to the government to bring back all the stranded students. The government is risking the lives of our children by saying that they should cross the Ukraine border at their own risk. My son is in Kharkiv from where border of Poland is nearly 1,700 km away. The students should be airlifted from Ukraine, not from bordering nations,” he said.

Another parent, Jatinder Singh, said his daughter, a student at Kharkiv National Medical University, had been hiding along with other students in a bunker of her hostel for the past seven days. “Getting no help from the government, they have started their journey on foot to safer places” said Jatinder.

Two students of Udhampur district reached home safely on Tuesday, but one, Parul Mahajan of Sallan Talab area, is still stranded. The Resident Commission, J&K, has established a helpdesk at the New Delhi airport.

Airlift them

The students should be airlifted from Ukraine, not from bordering nations. Rajinder Pal Singh, local resident

Got no help

Getting no help, my daughter has started foot journey from Kharkiv to safer places. Jatinder Singh, Jammu resident