Manisha Lobo, studying medicine at Kyiv, reached her native place Sagar in Shivamogga district on Thursday morning.
As Russia continued to attack the capital city, Manisha and her friends left the city on Sunday by hiring a vehicle on their own. Along the route, they stayed at a bunker for two days, before crossing the border to reach Poland. She and many students reached Delhi on Wednesday afternoon by the special flight, part of India’s Operation Ganga. She reached Bengaluru on Wednesday evening and from there she took a KSRTC bus to Sagar.
“I would have completed my graduation in medicine if my studies continued there for a few more months. By June this year, my final examinations would have been completed,” Manisha told the media. She had to survive on bread and biscuits for the past four days.
Her father John Lobo, an electrician, and mother Teresa Lobo, who runs a beauty parlour, spent about ₹35 lakh on her studies.
“It has been her dream to become a doctor since her childhood days. She did very well in SSLC and II PUC, but could not secure a medical seat through NEET. She joined an engineering college for a year, but her dream to become a doctor did not end. We decided to send her to Ukraine to fulfil her dream”, Mr. Lobo told The Hindu over the phone.
The family members are happy that she returned safe and wish that all other students return safely. Manisha felt that had the Indian Government taken steps early to reach out to the students, none would have suffered. She alleged that there was little response from the Indian Embassy in Ukraine.
Now, the family members are worried about her studies. Mr. Lobo has appealed to the State Government to take a decision to help all the students, who had returned from Ukraine, without completing their degrees. “This should be considered as a special case and take a decision that can help all these students. They should be allowed to complete their degrees here so that the State would get so many doctors,” he said.
He requested Sagar MLA Hartal Halappa, who had visited the family, to make efforts in this regard.
