Archit Watts
Tribune News Service
Muktsar, March 5
The ordeal of medical students, who even reached Poland from war-torn Ukraine three days ago, is still not ending, as they are still waiting for their flights to India. Parents here today alleged officials of the Indian Embassy in Poland rather than cooperating with students had adopted a pick-and-choose policy in sending them back to India.
Kuldeep Singh, whose son Navneet Singh is a second-year MBBS student at the Kharkiv National Medical University, said: “My son and his friends entered Poland on Thursday morning. Immigration officials of Poland were very supportive when they crossed over from Ukraine. However, Indian officials are not cooperating with them. Those who reached Poland yesterday have been sent to India. When my son and his friends asked about their turn, they had no answer. Students have reached the Poland border by risking their lives, be empathetic to them.”
He added, “Some students even made a hue and cry today when buses were about to take a group of students from a hotel in Rzeszow to the airport. Then sensing the gravity of the situation, they prepared a fresh list of students to be evacuated.”
Meanwhile, three other students from Muktsar, who remained stuck at Pesochin for two days, last evening managed to board a bus for Lviv by paying $500 each.
“Our children have been travelling for about 24 hours now. Their cell phones are mostly switched off. The bus driver has taken some safer route and is not taking them to Lviv via Kyiv. We are not sure whether they will further go to the border of Poland or some other country. It will depend once they reach Lviv as there is a huge traffic jam ahead,” said Ranjeet Singh and Ashok Chawla, local residents.
10 more from Muktsar return
As many as 16 students from Muktsar have returned via Poland, Hungary and Romania. Ten of them returned on Saturday. Mehakpreet Kaur, a fourth-year MBBS student, who left Kharkiv on February 24, remained stuck at Kharkiv for four days and then at Romania for another four days, finally reached here on Saturday. “I could not bring anything here except my documents,” she said.
Embassy officials resorting to pick choose, lament parents
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