Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine has created panic among those students living there and their family members. The students are bound to bear the expense including soaring airfares to return home.
Though Madhya Pradesh government claimed that it had approached the Union Foreign Affairs Ministry and appealed to ensure safe return of all students belonging to the state, the situation of the country has forced them to buy expensive air tickets, instead waiting for government assistance.
According to information, there are over 200 students from Madhya Pradesh living in Ukraine. Most of them are pursuing medical courses from different universities in Ukraine.
“The panic created by the media across the world has cost us a fortune to return home. Our career is hanging by the thread. Our families are so worried that we had no choice but to return home, paying whatever air ticket prices are,” said Miraj Jiwakhan, who just returned to New Delhi from Ukraine, paying Rs 40,000 for the one-way ticket.
Jiwakhan, a resident of Ratlam, is a fourth year medical student at Ternopil National Medical University.
Before boarding a Qatar Airway flight for New Delhi, Jiwakhan had a long 10-hours trip on a train to reach Odessa town from Ternopil in Ukraine.
“Now, I have to do another 8 hours journey to reach my home in Ratlam,” he said.
Miraj said, “I had booked my flight from the routine Qatar airways on Sunday for Tuesday. I did not want to come back without figuring something out to ensure my studies don’t get hampered. But my parents were worried about me. My university has blatantly declined to conduct online classes.”
Miraj did not want to return without any confirmation about online classes. But the tense atmosphere back home forced him to return, even before the government could do anything to bring him back.
“My parents had explicitly told me that they wanted me home. There are three more universities like mine that have out rightly rejected conducting classes in hybrid mode, despite having done the same during covid-19,” added Miraj.
A practicing advocate in Bhopal district court and mother of another student stuck in Ukraine, said that she was worried about her boy there due to the conflict but the latter was adamant on coming only after the university agrees on conducting online classes.
“Maybe the administration there is fearing that if they send Indian students back home so easily, they will lose support from the Indian government in resolving the conflict and the countries will go on war,” said the advocate requesting anonymity, concerned about the safety of her son in Ukraine.
She said that her son kept saying there was no fear-like situation there. But these kids haven’t seen the world, she added.
“We have witnessed several riots here. We know how the situation can escalate overnight. I have asked him to book the very next flight available by the Indian government. We will deal with the university and online class crisis later,” she said.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday announced to establish contact with the ministry of external affairs to bring MP students back home from Ukraine.
