Nine students from Karnataka who are stranded in Kharkiv and taken refuge in an underground shelter for the last three days are getting more concerned about their safety as their evacuation is getting delayed even as they are running out of supplies and spending fearful moments in a bunker amidst a giant gas cylinder and trash.
The students, including from Mysuru and Kodagu, are pleading for help as they are not getting food and potable water with conditions turning from bad to worse. They are eating chocolates with no food available as groceries are exhausted in shops.
“How long can we eat chocolate? We have no food and clean water to drink. Whatever eatables we have are going to finish by tomorrow. We request the Indian government to help us move out of this place as it is getting unbearable for us to remain in the bunker as our surroundings getting bombed repeatedly,” the students said, in a video shared with their families in Karnataka.
Karthik, whose brother Likhith from Kodagu is among those stranded in Kharkiv, said the Indian government must take immediate steps to transfer these students to the Russia border, which is not very far unlike Polish and Hungarian borders, and thereafter evacuate them to India. In the present condition, where bombing and shelling still happening in Kharkiv, which is among the earliest cities attacked by Russian forces, it’s challenging for these students to reach Polish and Romanian borders which is said to be about 1,500 km, he argued.
“My brother is disheartened over the situation. He is not speaking properly as he is very tense with no help coming to them amidst the escalating situation. Back home, our family members are worried about his safety with no word yet on their evacuation,” he said.
In the video, which was shared with The Hindu by Karthik, the nine students explained their ordeal and how the situation is getting tough for them living in a small bunker with no electricity. “We are using candles. Only bread and chocolates are available in stores and they are very expensive now. The situation is very uncertain and scary. Our building vibrates after bombing in the city. Please help us reach our hometowns,” Shrikanth, a student from Mysuru, pleaded in the video.
One of the startled students says, “Its better we are shifted to nearest border which is said to be 80 km from Kharkiv. Poland and Hungary borders are far and no transportation is available now. This is the best way to help us.”
The family members here said the students have been reportedly told by the embassy people to stay put and wait for their call as efforts are on to evacuate all stranded Indians from Ukraine.
