No help from Punjab Govt upon arrival: Ukraine returnees

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, March 4

Students from Punjab who returned from war-hit Ukraine on Thursday lamented they didn’t receive any such help despite the fact that there was a counter of the state government at the airport.

They said all their friends from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana and other states were welcomed by their government officials and they even received free air tickets, railway tickets and cab facility to reach their homes safely, but no such provisions were made by the Punjab Government.

Sumit Nagrath, an MBBS student of Vinnytsia National Pirogov Medical University, who returned to India last night, said he didn’t want to trouble his parents, so he asked them not to come to receive him at the airport. “I booked a cab from Delhi to Jalandhar, but unfortunately the driver cancelled the ride at the last moment. I then visited the Punjab Government counter to seek help, but there were empty chairs as no official was seated there,” he said, adding he waited for over an hour, but to no avail.

Another student Milap Singh, who returned home on Thursday, said he visited the state counter to ask for air tickets from Delhi to Amritsar airport, but they said they had vouchers for bus or railway tickets. “I then asked them for a railway ticket voucher, but they changed their statement and said they could only help with bus or taxi services,” he added.

Nodal officer denies charge

• ADGP MF Farooqui, the nodal officer of the state for handling the crisis, claimed five officials were present at the airport to extend all help to returning students
• On free travel, the ADGPsaid there was no such provision, but in case any student seeks assistance, all help would be given