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Journalism of Courage
Fifty-one students from Gujarat, who were stuck in Ukraine, came back to the state on Sunday. Their flight from East Europe had landed in Mumbai on Saturday night.
Of the 51 students, 15 reached Ahmedabad on a Volvo bus arranged by the Gujarat government. Another 15 students were dropped off in Vadodara and the rest alighted along the way in Vapi, Ankleshwar and Anand. The students had boarded a special Air India flight from Bucharest airport to return to the country.
In a felicitation ceremony held at the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) building in Ahmedabad’s Vastrapur on Sunday, state minister Jitu Vaghani said, “Our children were far away from their parents, but the governments of both Narendrabhai and Bhupendrabhai became their parents and ensured their return from Ukraine to India. Discussions were held with Russia, Ukraine and other neighbouring countries to ensure that students from Gujarat return to their homes.
“Yesterday, a flight landed in Mumbai, in which 51 of our students returned and then a Volvo bus was arranged for their travel to Gujarat. Another flight carrying 27 Gujarat students from Ukraine has reached Delhi and they, too, will be brought home on a Volvo bus. The remaining students from Gujarat, who are still stuck in Ukraine, will be brought back to India at the earliest.”
All 15 students from Ahmedabad are medical students pursuing a six-year MBBS course at the Bukovinian State Medical University (BSMU) in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. A total of 1,500-2,000 students from India are currently enrolled in the BSMU.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, Ilma Mansuri (23), a sixth-year MBBS student from the BSMU, said: “We were not as affected by the war as those in the capital Kiev and Kharkiv have been. Our university is closer to the Romania border, so we were evacuated by the Indian embassy. We were made to fill up forms by the embassy. There are still 2-3 months left of our MBBS course and we are not sure whether we will get the degree online.”
Anjali Vasaniya (19), a native of Amreli, who is a second-year BSMU student, said, “I had booked a March 7 flight to India but it got cancelled after the outbreak of war. Then we were taken to the Romania border, from where our evacuation process started. I am very thankful to the Union government for helping the students. We are not sure when we will be able to go back to Ukraine and resume our studies.”
“Our Indian embassy issued an advisory asking us to evacuate the place as soon as possible. The university sent out lists of Indian students to the embassy and as per the list, we were evacuated. Still, some students are yet to be evacuated. We reached the Romania border by bus… From the border, we reached the Bucharest city airport in Romania by a bus arranged by the embassy officials,” said Nilesh Tiwari (20), a third-year BSMU student.
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