Walked along to reach Romanian border, says Tamil Nadu student returnee from Ukraine

Chennai: Indian students had to walk for about 5-8 kilometers to reach the Romanian border from battle scarred Ukraine, a Tamil Nadu student who arrived from the eastern European nation said here on Sunday. Notably, the Indian authorities facilitated quick evacuation to Romania and this helped avoid the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine, students said here on arrival.

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A student of an institution in western Ukraine, Selvapriya said though the situation was relatively less tense in the western region, the Indian embassy evacuated students quickly to Romania to avoid peril in case the western side was also to witness escalation. "Since we were evacuated quickly, we escaped from the impact (of war), but a large number of students are stuck on the eastern side of Ukraine", she told reporters here at the airport.

She and other returnees said such stranded Indian students should be brought home safely and quickly. Belonging to Pudukottai District of Tamil Nadu, Selvapriya said several students from the western region have crossed the Romanian border and were on their way back home via Mumbai and Delhi.

On the experience of Indian students in reaching the Romanian border from Ukraine, she said there was heavy traffic congestion on the highway close to the border in the wake of war and they had to walk for about 5-8 kilometers to get out of Ukraine and reach Romania. Another student said he and others faced hassles only till reaching the Romanian border and after that the journey back home was easy.

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While in Ukraine they had to face difficulty in accessing even food, he said. "We were however quickly evacuated from the war zone," he added. The students thanked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin for facilitating their return. Minister for Non-Resident Tamils Welfare, Gingee K S Masthan received the first five Tamil Nadu student returnees from Ukraine. Masthan accorded them a warm welcome at the airport. More Tamil Nadu students are on their way back home, he said.

About 5,000 students hailing from Tamil Nadu are in Ukraine for studies and all efforts were being made to bring them all back home, he said. Also, 12 students belonging to neighbouring Kerala arrived here.