Digital Desk: Because of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it has become too expensive for Indian students in the Eastern European nation to return home. The issue has allegedly resulted in a three to fourfold increase in airfares, impacting hundreds of Indian students studying MBBS and engineering degrees at universities across Ukraine.
Due to an unexpected surge in demand, the price of a ticket to Hyderabad or Mumbai from Boryspil International Airport, 26 kilometres from Ukraine's capital Kyiv, has risen from Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakh-Rs 2 lakh, according to Indian students there, according to the Andhra Pradesh Telugu Non-Resident Society.
Meanwhile, the APNRTS has continued its attempts to bring back Indian students who have become stranded in Ukraine and has contacted some of them to enquire about their safety. As Russia proceeded to mobilise soldiers and weaponry to its borders with Ukraine, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a warning urging Indian nationals in Ukraine to come home immediately.
APNRTS CEO K Dinesh Kumar told TNIE: “Around 300 students are reportedly taking temporary shelter in and around Zaporizhzhia State Medical University and waiting for help. Most of the students, with whom we talked to, requested us and the Indian Embassy in Kyiv for repatriation and complained of the soaring air ticket fares. They expressed their willingness to leave the country as the situation is getting tense by the day due to a warlike situation between Ukraine and Russia.”
Since January, the APNRTS has written to the MEA and the Indian Embassy in Ukraine thrice.
"We contacted some students and obtained firsthand information from them regarding their safety and the current situation in Ukraine. We are in contact with both the MEA and the Embassy, and we are examining the possibility of airlifting the students or transferring them to neighbouring countries from where they may fly back to India," Kumar added.
"We anticipate about 500 Andhra students may have been stranded in Ukraine. We encourage parents to enter their information on the internet so that we may contact their children as soon as possible."
Leave A Comment