32 Assam students evacuated from war-hit Ukraine so far

Four more students from Assam, who were stranded in war-torn Ukraine, arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday, taking the total number of evacuees from the state to 32, an official release said.

One of the four students has chosen to stay back in Delhi, while the others will stay at Assam House in the national capital until they return to their homes, the release said, adding that arrangements are being made to bring them back to the north-eastern state.

Assam chief secretary Jishnu Barua has directed district administrations to reach out to parents of those students who are still stranded in the war-ravaged east European country.

The Kamrup district administration officials met parents of 10 Assam students who are studying in various universities in the war-hit country.

The Assam government has a list of 160 people stranded in Ukraine and the process of evacuating all of them has been going on in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs, the release said.

The Assam government has been in constant touch with the ministry of external affairs to ensure safe return of all people from the state, who are stuck in Ukraine.

The administration has also given WhatsApp numbers and email IDs, along with a web link for people who are still stranded in the war-hit country so that they can reach out to the authorities.

'Operation Ganga' has been launched by the Union government to bring back Indians from Ukraine safely and four Union ministers have been sent to Ukraine’s neighbouring countries such as Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia to lead the evacuation efforts.

The Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civil aircraft operations since February 24 morning when the Russian military attacked the country.

Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on March 1 that around 2,000 Indians have returned to their homeland, while 4,000 to 5,000 are getting ready to be brought back by flights.