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Hubballi/Mangaluru/Belagavi/Bengaluru: The Russian invasion of Ukraine has left many Karnataka students stranded as airports have been bombed and there is nowhere to flee to safety. From Hubballi to Mangaluru and Shivamogga to Belagavi, scores of anxious parents are praying for the safety of their children and urging the government to ensure their return.
While there is no exact number of students from Karnataka studying in Ukraine, almost all pursuing medical degree, TOI reached out to a few parents who are in touch with their children.
Chaitra Saunshi of Yaraguppi village, Kundgol in Dharwad district, and Mahaganapathi Bilimaggad of Mundaragi in Gadag district are two students from Kittur-Karnataka who are stuck in the war-torn country.
Chaitra’s father Gangadhar Saunshi, who works as a clerk in NWKRTC in Hubballi, said his daughter is pursuing third-year MBBS in Kharkiv National Medical University and had planned to make her annual visit in June this year after her exams.
“After tension gripped Ukraine, she had planned to take online classes and booked a ticket to travel back to India on March 2. But now she is stranded,” said a worried Saunshi. The government employee said his daughter had called him around 12.30pm on Thursday and said she is staying in the hostel and an emergency has been declared.
By 6.30pm, the situation had turned dire with Chaitra informing her mother that the bombing was getting closer and she along with 15 other Karnataka-based citizens was being moved to the underground Metro station for safety.
Mahaganapathi’s father Kashinath Bilimaggad said his son is pursuing second-year MBBS in Bukovinian State Medical University, Chernivtsi. “After admission, my son has not visited India but had booked a ticket for March. While my son and other Indians who live in Chernivtsi are safe as it is about 800km away from the border area, as a precaution they are hoarding grocery items and making other arrangements for their safety,” he said.
Other students like Shivani Madiwalar have been asked to shift to the building basement.
‘We could hear explosions’
Two students from Mangaluru, Anaina Anna and Claton Osmond, are facing a similar crisis. “I spoke to Anna, who said she and all her classmates are safe in their hostel near the border of Kharkiv. She messaged later that they could hear the loud noise of a blast outside. Since all airports are closed due to the war, we don’t know how and when they will be evacuated,” said Sandhya, Anna’s mother.
Osmond’s father Morwin D’Souza, said his son is a first-year MBBS student and was staying in Kyiv. “He did not panic in the morning, but later got scared. He is in touch with us every half an hour. In fact, a blast was reported at an airport near his place. He said people are panic buying grocery. They are in touch with the Indian embassy, which has promised to airlift them soon. The government should act swiftly to bring them back,” said D’Souza.
Embassy officials met kids
In Belagavi, Dhanajay Chougala, father of Amogha Chougala, said at least 15 Indian students were shifted to their hostel basement at the university on Thursday afternoon. He said at present his daughter was safe and Indian embassy officials visited the students. “However, internet disruption has been witnessed in the region and the administration has advised to switch to international subscriber dialling (ISD) to make calls to family members,” said Chougala.
He said the university staff has asked his daughter and others to stock up on ration and other essentials for at least three to four days so that they can stay indoors.
While there is no exact number of students from Karnataka studying in Ukraine, almost all pursuing medical degree, TOI reached out to a few parents who are in touch with their children.
Chaitra Saunshi of Yaraguppi village, Kundgol in Dharwad district, and Mahaganapathi Bilimaggad of Mundaragi in Gadag district are two students from Kittur-Karnataka who are stuck in the war-torn country.
Chaitra’s father Gangadhar Saunshi, who works as a clerk in NWKRTC in Hubballi, said his daughter is pursuing third-year MBBS in Kharkiv National Medical University and had planned to make her annual visit in June this year after her exams.
“After tension gripped Ukraine, she had planned to take online classes and booked a ticket to travel back to India on March 2. But now she is stranded,” said a worried Saunshi. The government employee said his daughter had called him around 12.30pm on Thursday and said she is staying in the hostel and an emergency has been declared.
By 6.30pm, the situation had turned dire with Chaitra informing her mother that the bombing was getting closer and she along with 15 other Karnataka-based citizens was being moved to the underground Metro station for safety.
Mahaganapathi’s father Kashinath Bilimaggad said his son is pursuing second-year MBBS in Bukovinian State Medical University, Chernivtsi. “After admission, my son has not visited India but had booked a ticket for March. While my son and other Indians who live in Chernivtsi are safe as it is about 800km away from the border area, as a precaution they are hoarding grocery items and making other arrangements for their safety,” he said.
Other students like Shivani Madiwalar have been asked to shift to the building basement.
‘We could hear explosions’
Two students from Mangaluru, Anaina Anna and Claton Osmond, are facing a similar crisis. “I spoke to Anna, who said she and all her classmates are safe in their hostel near the border of Kharkiv. She messaged later that they could hear the loud noise of a blast outside. Since all airports are closed due to the war, we don’t know how and when they will be evacuated,” said Sandhya, Anna’s mother.
Osmond’s father Morwin D’Souza, said his son is a first-year MBBS student and was staying in Kyiv. “He did not panic in the morning, but later got scared. He is in touch with us every half an hour. In fact, a blast was reported at an airport near his place. He said people are panic buying grocery. They are in touch with the Indian embassy, which has promised to airlift them soon. The government should act swiftly to bring them back,” said D’Souza.
Embassy officials met kids
In Belagavi, Dhanajay Chougala, father of Amogha Chougala, said at least 15 Indian students were shifted to their hostel basement at the university on Thursday afternoon. He said at present his daughter was safe and Indian embassy officials visited the students. “However, internet disruption has been witnessed in the region and the administration has advised to switch to international subscriber dialling (ISD) to make calls to family members,” said Chougala.
He said the university staff has asked his daughter and others to stock up on ration and other essentials for at least three to four days so that they can stay indoors.
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