Aparna Banerji
Jalandhar, March 4
With no vehicle to pick them up, around 1,000 Indian students remained stranded at hostels in Pesochin a day after they left Kharkiv for the suburban city following a government advisory.
With no basements or bunkers and adequate food, the students are scared amid intensified shelling.
While a couple of buses have taken a small number of students out (arranged locally by consultants at exorbitant rates), a majority of the students are staying put. The buses are heading all the way to Lviv, the capital city.
Forced to a sleepless night amidst sounds of multiple blasts nearby, most of them are surviving on a single meal. The food is being arranged once a day through education consultant Karan Sandhu, accompanying them since the beginning.
Hoping to arrange a safe passage through Russia (the Russian border is 40 km away), a couple of buses that had been arranged locally by consultants are now charging $500 per student.
Tejinder Kaur, mother of student Jashmeen Kaur, said: “There is heavy shelling in the area and there are no bunkers. There is no place for students to run for cover. Two buses were arranged, one yesterday and another this morning. The same bus that charged $200 a student yesterday asked for $500 today. My daughter has no money or spare clothes. She ate a little chicken soup yesterday. Today, they will get pasta at 6 pm. This morning, Karan gave them some chocolate. He’s the only one arranging transport and food. That’s their only meal. How will they survive another night?”
She said: “The students should immediately be evacuated from Pesochin as there is heavy shelling in the area. Students in other two sites haven’t even eaten. It’s snowing and power goes out at 6 pm. We urge the Indian Government to take them out of there.” Kuldeep Singh, the father of student Ekamdeep, said: “With no government help, students are planning to take a bus out of there.” Another parent said calls to the Indian Embassy mostly went unanswered.
Melting snow for water
Kapurthala’s Gurleen Kaur is among 700 Indian students stranded at Sumy, a city in Ukraine, with no power or food. Her father Sukhwinder Singh said: “No bus or help has reached them so far. There is no food and students are melting snow to drink water. We urge the Centre to ensure early evacuation. They are stuck in a hostel amid heavy shelling in the area.”
On single meal amid bombing
{$excerpt:n}
