Bhopal: “The panic created by media across the world has cost us a fortune to return home. Our career is hanging by the thread. Our families were so worried that we had no choice but to return home, paying whatever meaningless prices they would ask from us,” said Miraj Jiwakhan, who returned to New Delhi from Ukraine, paying Rs 40,000 for the one-way ticket.
He boarded the train from New Delhi on Wednesday evening and will reach his hometown Ratlam by midnight.
“I did a 10-hour-long trip on a train to reach Odessa from Ternopil, only to board that flight. Now, I have to do another 8-hour trip from New Delhi to my hometown Ratlam, waiting the entire day in Delhi. I may reach Ratlam by midnight, given the Indian Railways run the trains timely,” he said.
The fourth-year MBBS student at Ternopil National Medical University reached New Delhi Airport, boarding a Qatar Airways flight from Odessa International Airport.
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Miraj said, “I had booked my flight from the routine Qatar airwayson Sunday for Tuesday. I did not want to come back without figuring something out to ensure my studies don’t get hampered. But my parents were worried about me. My university has blatantly declined to conduct online classes.”
Miraj did not want to return without any confirmation about online classes. But the tensed atmosphere back home forced him to return, even before the government could do anything to bring him back.
“My parents had explicitly told me that they wanted me home. There are three more universities like mine that have outrightly rejected conducting classes in hybrid mode, despite having done the same during Covid-19,” added Miraj.
A practicing advocate in Bhopal district court and mother of another student stuck in Ukraine, said that she was worried about her boy there due to the conflict but the latter was adamant on coming only after the university agrees on conducting online classes.
“Maybe the administration there is fearing that if they send Indian students back home so easily, they will lose support from Indian government in resolving the conflict and the countries will go on war,” said the advocate requesting anonymity, concerned about the safety of her son in Ukraine.
She said that her son kept saying there was no fear-like situation there. But these kids haven’t seen the world, she added.
“We have witnessed several riots here. We know how the situation can escalate overnight. I have asked him to book the very next flight available by the Indian government. We will deal with the university and online class crisis later,” she said.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday had announced to establish contact with the ministry of external affairs to bring MP students back home from Ukraine.
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