Nishtha Shree Moharana, who is struggling for survival inside a bunker in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, has been making desperate calls to her elder brother in Bhubaneswar to evacuate her from the war-torn country.
“As missiles rain down on the cities, I have butterflies in my stomach. I am desperate to go back home. The only thought in my mind is whether I will be able to go back to my native city Bhubaneswar or not,” she told The Telegraph over phone from Ukraine .
Nishtha Shree, 22, a fourth year student of Aerospace Engineering at Kharkiv Aviation Institute, National Aerospace University, said: “I am the only woman in my group who is in a bunker. The first two days of war we spent at a metro station and now we are in a bunker near Studentska. We keep moving from one place to another for security and safety reasons. We can still hear the sound of bomb blasts. I don’t know when I will be able to return to my country.”
With hardly any food left, Nishtha and her friends have been managing with whatever is left with them. But their wait to return to India seems to be getting longer. “I had an examination on February 21. Accordingly, my elder brother booked my return ticket for February 24. But Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of military strikes on Ukraine and we suddenly found ourselves in the midst of uncertainty,” said the would be engineer.
Chitra Behera. The Telegraph
Chitra Behera, 22, a fourth year medical student of Kyiv National Medcial University, stranded in the war-ravaged Ukraine, told this newspaper, “I am 20km away from my friend Nishtha. From today (Sunday) morning, there is no power at Nishtha’s place. I have not been able to get in touch with her since morning.”
Chitra, who is staying at a metro station in Kharkiv, said: “I am scared seeing the tanks of the Russian military moving across the streets. Anything can happen at any time. But our parents at Bhubaneswar should remain calm. We are handling the situation on our own.”
On why she didn’t leave the place early, Bhubaneswar native Chitra said: “Our professors used to tell us not to panic and that everything would become normal. But suddenly the war broke out.”
With Nishtha desperate to come back, her family in Bhubaneswar is spending sleepless nights. “Her mobile phone is switched off since Saturday night. We are worried. My parents have almost forsaken food. It’s a tough time for us,” said her brother Manzil Moharana.
Manzil said: “My sister’s name has already been registered at the chief resident commissioner’s office in New Delhi. But the problem is that she stays nearly 1,600km away from the border of Hungary. It’s a 19-hour journey by road. But due to war, the road has been damaged. And it’s not safe to travel in a bus or car. The Indian Embassy has told them to stay where they are. They have been assured that necessary steps will be taken to evacuate them.”
Nishtha’s mother Mamata said: “I would appeal to the authorities to take steps to immediately bring her back. She has not come home for the last two years because of Covid.”
Chitra’s father Ranjan Behera said: “We all are worried. We want her back. Things are getting worse with each passing day. We had booked a return ticket for her on March 5. Now we are uncertain when she will come back.”
Meanwhile, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has talked to Union home minister Amit Shah and Union external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and discussed with them the issue of safe return of Odia students and workers stuck in Ukraine. Odisha government has also announced to bear the expenses for return of Odias stuck in Ukraine.
