A student from Kodagu who was stuck in war-torn Ukraine has safely returned to India in an evacuation flight on Tuesday. She landed in New Delhi with seven other students from Karnataka.
“Madeeha M.G., daughter of Gafoor, has reached New Delhi. She is from Gonikoppa,” the district administration confirmed.
Sources said Madeeha was studying at Uzhhorod National University in western Ukraine, which is close to the border. “She landed in New Delhi on Tuesday morning but we haven’t received any communication from her family on her arrival at Gonikoppa,” they add.
According to the district administration, 16 students from Kodagu were stranded in Ukraine and one of the students has returned. Most of them are stuck in Kiev, Kharkiv and Sumy. “Two girls boarded a train from Kharkiv to the border and a few more are on their way to the border. This is the update the administration has received from the students.”
The students are safe as the officer from the district disaster management authority, who has been in touch with the stranded students since the crisis began, spoke to them through a video call.
On reaching Bengaluru, her worried family welcomed Madeeha, who, after reaching the Hungarian border, managed to board an evacuation flight from Budapest.
“The place where I was studying had no trouble but we wanted to leave Ukraine. Embassy authorities have made arrangements on the border for the evacuation of Indian students who are taken in buses to Budapest. But crossing the border took a lot of time because of the rush,” recalled Madeeha.
Madeeha, a first-year medical student, had left for Ukraine on January 14 this year. “My passion is medicine and I will go back for my education in Ukraine when the situation becomes normal. I cannot quit halfway since education standards and infrastructure there are good,” she said.
Overjoyed to see his daughter return home, Gafoor, who runs a driving school, said his wife fell sick hearing about the Ukraine-Russia crisis since they had sent her to Ukraine just three months ago. “We were worried about her. Thankfully, she has returned home. I thank the Government of India for bringing back my daughter safely,” he said.
