‘No end to bombing’: Tripura students anxiously wait to return home from war-torn Ukraine

Agartala: Akhangsha Bhowmik, a fourth-year medical student in Ukraine's V N Karazin Kharkiv National University, is anxiously waiting to safely return home in Tripura capital Agartala. She is among an estimated 50 medical students from the northeastern state who have been stranded in Ukraine after the Russian invasion.

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"For the last three days, we have been hearing sounds of heavy bombing and shelling. The stored water has been exhausted and food is also getting over. We are going through difficult times," Bhowmik told PTI over a WhatsApp call from Kiev.

"The situation is worst in Kiev as there is no end to bombing and shelling. There is panic and uncertainty all around. I, along with six other medical students, have taken shelter in a bomb raid shelter, where the temperature is around three to four degrees Celsius," she said.

She appealed to the Government of India to evacuate them at the earliest as "things are rapidly turning worse".

Sanjib Nath, a resident of Dharmanagar in North Tripura, is tensely waiting for the return of his 21-year-old son Dwaipayan, a medical student in a Kiev-based institution. He had gone to Kiev on December 11 last year to pursue medical studies. "Everything was fine until the Russian invasion. He had a scheduled flight to Delhi on February 26 but it got cancelled due to heavy bombing and shelling around Kiev," Nath said.

He said that his son and some of his friends from Tripura wanted to escape to Poland but could not and are now sheltered in a bunker. Nath urged the Centre to evacuate his son and bring him back home. "I would be grateful if our government brings back my son and others from the war zone immediately," he said.

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Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has said that the issue of evacuating students from Tripura has been taken up with the Ministry of External Affairs. "I am sure required help will reach the students soon until then I am requesting all to follow the advisory issued by GoI and Embassy of India, Ukraine," Deb had tweeted on Friday.