The task force committee formed by the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government to trace the students who are held up in Ukraine, pegged their number at 537, including 32 who have already been flown to Delhi and Mumbai, from where they reached their homes.
Headed by Principal Secretary (Transport and Roads and Buildings) M.T. Krishna Babu, the task force contacted the students and is making efforts to bring them back safely, according to an official release.
Dedicated helpline numbers 1902 and 0863-2340678 were set up to support the people of Andhra Pradesh who were stuck in the war-torn country. Besides, a WhatsApp number (8500027678) was provided to seek help, and the stranded people could also reach out to the Andhra Pradesh government through https://apnrts.ap.gov.in
The government said in the press note that of the 537 students who were identified, 80 were from Krishna district, 77 from Visakhapatnam, 54 from East Godavari, 45 from Guntur, 38 from West Godavari, 32 each from Chittoor and Prakasam, 25 from Anantapur, 22 from Nellore, 18 each from Kurnool and Kadapa, 12 from Srikakulam and 10 from Vizianagaram.
It was further stated that a team of the AP Bhavan was making reception and transport arrangements at Delhi airport while IRS officer Ramakrishna was stationed in Mumbai to take care of the students.
A majority of the students are studying in Zaporizhia State Medical University, Kyiv Medical University, Odessa National Medical University, Kharkiv National Medical University and Vinnytsya O.O. Bogomolets National Medical University.
Efforts were under way to get in touch with Telugu associations in Poland, Moldova, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia, the release added.
