Amidst reports that a few medical students from Chittoor district were stranded in war-torn Ukraine, the Chittoor police on Friday advised the panic-stricken parents to inform their children to carry Indian flags on their vehicles while moving out to safer places, and strictly avoid moving alone.
A video message of a third-year medicine student of Bogomolets National Medical College in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, spread like wildfire in Chittoor.
In the message, Nikitha, who hails from B. Kothakota village of Madanapalle division, said the situation in Ukraine was “very critical, with sounds of missiles and bombings.”
She said the students were not able to withdraw cash from the ATMs despite waiting for hours. Shortage of groceries and non-availability of flights added to their woes. She sought immediate intervention of the Indian and Ukrainian governments to evacuate the students to safer places.
Meanwhile, the police said there were around nine students from Chittoor district trapped in the war-ravaged nation.
Responding to the video messages from the students and the plight of their parents, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Madanapalle) A. Ravi Manohar Achari said the district police could only guide them about safety measures.
“The rescue and evacuation operations from Ukraine will be carried out by the Indian government. For immediate safety of the students stuck there, an advisory is in place. They have been asked to carry Indian flags while moving out. They have also been advised to move to safer places in groups. The parents should share the advisory with their children,” he said.
Deputy SP (Law and Order) N. Sudhakar Reddy said the parents could contact the revenue officials in their village and pass on the information to the district administration to get immediate guidelines.
‘Do not panic’
“As the Indian government has already spoken to the Ukraine and Russian governments on the safety of Indian students, the parents are advised not to panic,” he said.
An overseas education consultant in Tirupati said most students from Chittoor district seeking to pursue medicine in Russia and former USSR states usually approach consultants in Hyderabad and Chennai. He said several students had moved to areas away from Kyiv and towns along the Russian border. Many others were likely to shift to Romania and other Balkan nations.
