Bhopal: Two Madhya Pradesh students Harshit Sharma and Ayushi Jain, who reached Bhopal from Ukraine on Wednesday afternoon, said that expensive flight ticket rates prevented many Indian nationals from returning home amid Russia-Ukraine conflict.
They felt relieved reaching home but soaring airfares have left them concerned. They paid Rs 62,000 for tickets of AI-1946 from Kyiv, Boryspil to Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. They reached Bhopal by Shatabdi Express.
"There are about 15,000 Indian students in Ukraine and the primary reason they have not managed to return home is the high ticket cost. Most of us belong to middle class families and cannot afford expensive flights. Earlier, we paid Rs 25,000 for one-way journey," said Sharma, who is a resident of Kolar in Bhopal.
He added that he was one of the lucky persons who was evacuated on time before conflict could escalate. He has urged the government to increase the frequency of flights from Ukraine and decrease airfares to make them affordable for middle class families.
"Returning home today is relieving. I want all my fellow Indians back there to feel the same. Expensive flights cannot facilitate that. There are over 800 Indians in my college alone," said third year MBBS student at Vinnytsia National Pirogov Medical University.
"Russia invaded Donestk area the day we left. Capital city and inner areas are calm, borders are not. Ukraine is surrounded by 1.5 lakh Russian soldiers," he said.
His father Anand Sharma, who works in state tribal department, said, "Money is a major concern. I paid for tickets of two of my son's roommates, who are residents of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, as they couldn't pay." Harshit's brother Amit Sharma, who works with Infosys, said they were not able to contact him due to troublesome telecom services in Ukraine.
Ayushi Jain, a resident of Malharganj in Indore and an MBBS student in Kyiv, said, "Things were normal when I left. Our university permitted us to leave after the embassy issued advisory. My family was tensed here. So, we booked for the first flight available." Jain is a third-year student pursuing her MBBS from Ukrain? Bogomolates National Medical University.
"My family could afford Rs 62,000. But most of my friends are still there, waiting for airfares to go down. I hope they remain safe," she added.
