Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren wrote a letter to Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday, requesting the latter to help safe return of those from the state who got stranded in Ukraine.

“My office is constantly being approached by relatives of those persons from Jharkhand who are stuck in Ukraine,” Hemant informed Shah.

They are in a state of panic and horror and compelled to move with limited essential provisions to makeshift safety places like underground metro rail lines, he added.

“Even the departmental stores are insisting on cash payments against essential procurement,” the chief minister further informed, adding extreme inclement weather was enhancing their pain.

Though the exact number of people from Jharkhand stranded in Ukraine is not known, Hemant sent Shah “a hurriedly prepared list of persons” along with addresses and contact numbers and requested him “to instruct the concerned officials to take steps for their safe return to the state”.

“Till such time, they could be accommodated at safe places with adequate supply of essential items,” he requested the Union home minister.

The state control room had till Saturday received the details of 86 persons, including 24 female, who went to Ukraine for studying or earning livelihood and are stuck since war broke out. Ranchi district had 25 persons, including 13 female, while Hazaribagh and Sahebganj had 11 each and East Singhbhum 10.

“We were approached by 32 more persons today but have to check if any of those had requested help on behalf of a person we were already aware of,” informed a control room official when contacted on Sunday.

Many of those hailing from districts like Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Dhanbad also contacted local media and shared their experiences.

While many said they took shelter in bunkers or metro lines, some also informed they had walked to the nearest international border and were waiting for help to come in.

Not all are, however, in as bad condition.

“My son, Sadaab Hassan, is waiting in his medical college hostel to return home but he is otherwise safe as their location is not within the war zone,” informed Badruddin Ansari of Mahuda in Dhanbad district.

“My son often takes shelter in a bunker but he didn’t face any crisis of food till now, though he is not sure what would happen if the situation continues,” said Manoj Kumar Singh of Nayagarh, also in Dhanbad, whose son, Saurabh Kumar, studies medicine in Ukrainian capital Kyiv.