Many Indian students take train out of Ukraine's Kharkiv, made to give up seats for locals

Tribune News Service

Aparna Banerji

Jalandhar, March 1

Fourth-year medical student Naveen Shekarappa, who was killed during shelling today, was a batch-mate of Jalandhar-based Jasmine Pruthi (22), who was on her way to the Kharkiv railway station in a last-ditch effort to escape the war-ravaged city when the incident occurred.

Also read: Narrow escape for 10 Punjab students in Ukraine's Kharkiv

For the past several days, parents of around 4,000 Indian students stuck in Kharkiv have been warning of escalating fighting and lack of focus on students stuck in the eastern part of Ukraine.

While some students risked their lives and boarded a train out of Kharkiv to Lviv this morning, thousands of students stayed put in bunkers amid sounds of shelling and supplies running short.

Those who have managed to board trains out of the city have alleged preferential treatment to Ukrainians. Monica, mother of Jasmine, said: “Naveen was my daughter’s course-mate. She was inconsolable when she called us up to break the news this morning. They were walking to the station when the incident happened. They took a huge risk amidst shelling. After walking for 5 km, they got a cab. Jasmine is now aboard a train to the Polish border. They are all scared. At the station, they were earlier not allowed in with locals being given the preference. In the commotion, Jasmine’s bag got left behind.”

Pardeep Aggarwal, whose daughter Navi and nieces Saphia and Ridhi also took a train to Lviv, said: “Amidst blasts, a batch of 70 to 80 students, including our daughters, went to the Kharkiv station and waited for hours before they were allowed on a train. They had to leave seats and sit on the floor to accommodate Ukrainians. They were first asked to get off, but as they were there first, the students were allowed to travel. Since then, I haven’t talked to my daughter.”

There is deep scepticism and angst among parents whose kids are stranded in the country’s second largest city. Monika Batra, whose daughter Rashmi, a first-year medical student, is stuck in a bunker at Kharkiv, said: “We urge PM Modi to get our kids out of the warzone. We just want our children safe back home.”

Kapurthala resident Sham Singh, father of first-year medical student Gurpreet Singh (19) who is stranded in a bunker, said: “All we can do is pray. Thousands of Indian students are stranded in Kharkiv as bombing intensifies. Food will run out in a day or two. Now they can’t think of stepping out. There is intense bombing kilometres away. Despite pressure from the university to attend classes, I had booked my son’s air ticket for February 26. But the students were made to stay back.”

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