THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Even when thousands are stranded inside the bunkers in Kharkiv and nearby cities in Ukraine, a large group of Indian students, including Keralites, who proceeded to Kyiv railway station on the basis of a communication from Indian Embassy in Kyiv, complained that they were not being allowed to board the trains that are operating from Kyiv to western parts of the country as part of evacuation.
As TOI spoke to them over the phone, they were literally on the verge of breakdown, saying that something has to be done immediately at least to get back to their hostels and bunkers, if not get into the trains. “We have been here since 11am and till 3pm without food or water, and we are still waiting for trains.
We were literally prohibited from boarding the trains, though we have been told by the embassy that we should proceed to the railway stations,” said Mary Fiona, a third-year medical student in Kyiv and a native of Thiruvananthapuram.
She said that there were several hundred students who walked all the way from their hostels to the railway stations that are 4km away. “We carried all the luggage and amid the fear created by the noises of bombing, we took the courage to walk till here. One group was fortunate to get a bus. Except for the communication to proceed to the railway station, there are no other clear cut instructions and there is no one to tell us what to do and how to even return. We have already heard two sirens alerting us to get back to safety bunkers,” said Punya, another student, from Thalassery.
TOI has taken up the matter with the office of the chief minister and the office of the ministry of the state for external affairs V Muraleedharan in New Delhi, immediately, following which both the offices have promised to look into the matter immediately.
