Several Tripura students- both boys and girls have got stranded in Ukraine even as the Russian fighters keep on ravaging the nation with relentless strafing and missiles being exploded in the neighbourhood for the last two days. Though exact figure of the Tripura boys and girls stranded are not available, at 10 students from various parts of the state were identified and traced in Ukraine. They also talked to the media here in Tripura. No official bulletin was there in this regard till the last information came in while Director of Medical Education Chinmoy Biswas remained incommunicado. Despite several attempts, he could not be reached over telephone. Apparently the authorities concerned are not alive to the situation. Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, however, in a message said :
We have been informed about several students of #Tripura who are stuck in Ukraine. We have presented the matter in front of the MEA, & I am sure, required help will reach to the students soon until then requesting all to follow the advisory issued by the GOI and India in
All the students- mostly studying medicine in various medical colleges of Ukraine – are passing their days with absolute uncertainty and in extreme panic. They are facing serious food and grocery shortage while drinking water is also scarce. But they are all safe.
Out of the 10 students, many are from Belonia in South Tripura district. They are- Deeptanu Baidya, son of Bidhab Vaidya of Bankar, Deepannita Chakraborty, daughter of Naresh Chakraborty of Jashmura, Anka Sarkar, daughter of Shyamal Sarkar of Hall Chowmohani and Ankita Debnath, daughter of Babul Debnath of Netaji Palli (all of them are students of Poltava Medical University, Ukraine), Megha Trivedi, daughter of Meera Trivedi (Binitaha Medical College, Ukraine) and Susmita Sen, daughter of Amar Sen of SBC Nagar (Bhogomolest Medical college, Kyiv).
The other Tripura students who could be traced are- Bidisha Bhowmik, daughter of Bidyut Bhowmik of Kakraban, Dipayan Nath, son of Sandeep Nath of Dharmanagar, and Rajat Nath, son of Ranjan Nath of Dharmanagar and Akhangsha Bhowmik of Agartala.
One of the main problems being faced by the stranded students is shortage of food, groceries and water. The authorities had asked the students like other citizens of Ukraine to remain home-bound and not to venture out on the streets under any circumstances.
Many of the students had already taken shelter in basements for dwelling. One of the main problems is that many of the students could not be communicated but those who could talk to authorities and media felt that all other students scattered all over Ukraine might have already taken safe shelter though they would also face shortage of food, water and groceries.
The most alarming is the problem of evacuating them. The Indian government is trying to evacuate the Indian students from Ukraine by road via Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Romania and Belarus in the wake of flight suspension.
The main attempts are being made through Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. Now, the problem is many students are deep inside Ukraine like Poltava, some of them are in fact located in the far eastern part of Ukraine adjoining to Russia like Kharkiv, which is a flashpoint. It is virtually quite difficult for the government to reach out to the students living in such places.
According to reports, the Government is trying its best to ensure the safe return of the students stranded in Ukraine.
