249 HP students still stranded in Ukraine: Jai Ram

Indian students, evacuated from Ukraine, received by Additional Resident Commissioner Ajay Mishra on their arrival at the airport due to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis. (ANI Photo)


249 students from Himachal Pradesh are still stranded in war-torn country Ukraine and efforts are being made to safely evacuate them to bordering countries from where they will be airlifted to India, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Thursday.

Giving a suo moto statement on evacuation of students from Ukraine, Thakur said 249 students are still stranded in Ukraine which includes 53 in Kharkiv while all the students from capital city of Kiev have been evacuated.

The war between Ukraine and Russia has become a cause of concern and the Indian government is making efforts to shift stranded students to bordering countries, the CM said.

Thakur stated that so far, 198 Himachal students have been evacuated from the country. “We have appealed to the parents of the stranded students to contact us through CM Helpline 110 and till date, 163 students and their families have been contacted.

The state government officials are meeting the families of stranded students and also trying to maintain contact with the students. The government is in regular contact with the Union government and whatever input we are receiving from parents or students are being forwarded to concerned Union government officials, he added.

He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making efforts to ensure safe evacuation of all Indian nationals from Ukraine and said special flights including Indian Airforce aircraft is being plied into service to airlift them.

The Union government is also making arrangements for their stay and further journey back to India, he added.