Expensive airfares preventing Indian nationals from returning home, say Ukraine-return MP students

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Two Madhya Pradesh students, Ayushi Jain and Harshit Sharma, who were stuck in Ukraine reached the state capital on Wednesday afternoon safely amidst Russia-Ukraine conflicts which may escalate into a war.

The students were relieved on reaching home but the soaring airfares have left them concerned. They have paid Rs 62,000 for their flight tickets from Kiev, Boryspil to Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on flight number AI-1946.

“There are about 15,000 Indian students in Ukraine and the primary reason they have not managed to return home so far is the price of the tickets. Most of us belong to middle-class families and not all of us can afford such expensive flights. Earlier, we used to pay around Rs 25,000 for one-way journeys,” says Sharma, who is a resident of Kolar area in Bhopal.

He further says he was one of the lucky few who have been evacuated in time before the conflict escalates into a war.

“The Russians are on the go. The day we were evacuated, Russia invaded Donestk area. Though the situation in the capital city and other inner areas is quite calm now, but we cannot deny tension on the borders. There are 1.5 lakh Russian soldiers standing right on the head of Ukraine. We don’t know what is going to happen in a week or even in a night,” he said.

Harshit’s father Anand Sharma, who works in the tribal department for the government of Madhya Pradesh, says, “Monetary issue is a major concern for the students residing in Ukraine. I paid for the tickets of my son’s two roommates, who are the residents of Churu, Rajasthan and Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, as they couldn’t pay immediately for the flight.

His brother Amit Sharma says his family was not able to contact the former as the telecom services in Ukraine have been suspended in some areas or are facing troubles.

“We were really worried about his safety and we were not able to talk to him. It was scary,” says Amit, who works at Infosys.

Harshit has urged the government to increase the frequency of flights from Ukraine and decrease the airfares to make them affordable to the helpless middle-class families.

“Though I was at home all the time, returning home today is quite relieving. I want all my fellow Indian nationals in Ukraine to feel the same but that is not possible for many due to the expensive flight fares. There are about 800-1000 students in my college. No country other than India has so many nationals residing there,” said the third-year MBBS student at Vinnytsia National Pirogov Medical University.

Ayushi Jain, a native of Malharganj, Indore and MBBS student in Kyiv, “There was everything normal in Ukraine when I left the country. When the embassy issued an advisory to return to India, our university also told us that we can go back if we want to. My family was also tense back home. So, we booked the first flight available.”

“My family could afford Rs 62,000 for a one-way flight. But most of my friends are still in Ukraine, waiting for the airfares to go down. I am concerned about them and hope that they remain safe,” she adds.

Both Harshit and Ayushi came to Bhopal from Shatabdi Express.

Published on: Wednesday, February 23, 2022, 05:02 PM IST