TIRUPATI: As parents anxiously await any word from students stranded in Ukraine, a Chittoor district student, Sai Nikita, has put out a video on the issues she and her colleagues are facing.
Nikita, a native of B. Kothakota, who is studying MBBS at Bogomolets National Medical University in Kyiv, said that the situation was terrible and there was bombing every now and then. She urged the immediate intervention of the Indian and the Andhra Pradesh governments to evacuate the students to India.
"The situation in Ukraine is very critical and we are living in constant fear of what will happen next, with sounds of missiles and bombing. We were not able to withdraw cash from the ATMs despite waiting for 2-3 hours. We ran out of groceries and no flight is available for evacuation," Nikita, a third-year student, said.
There are nine other students from various parts of Chittoor district including Madanapalle, Rompicherla, Chinnagottigallu and Chittoor in different parts of Ukraine.
Javeed Khan and Noorjahan from Madanapalle were worried about their son Mohammad Suhail, who is studying medicine at the National Medical College in Kyiv. His flight to India on Thursday was cancelled after the Russian attack began.
"From Thursday morning, we have been hearing sounds of military aircraft and explosions and we feel we are at great risk. Banks are closed and ATMs are down. We are facing a lot of difficulties even to purchase groceries. We never imagined we'd be trapped in such a situation," Suhail said, according to his parents.
A second-year medical student Faheem Akram sent a video message to his parents Mehaboob Basha and Shameeda, who live in Rompicherla, saying that his offline classes have been cancelled and his friends and he were confined to their hostel. They have been told to leave the hostel only if it is necessary.
Navyasri and Nitish, children of Madanapalle-based teacher couple Gangadhar and Venkata Lakshmamma, Tharun from Kannikapuram of Chittoor and three others were said to be trapped in the similar situation. A few of them have shifted to bomb-proof bunkers.
