Efforts underway to evacuate 346 Kannadigas stranded in war-affected Ukraine

PTI, Feb 25, 2022, 6:12 PM IST

The Karnataka government on Friday said 346 people from the state are stranded in war-affected Ukraine and efforts are underway to evacuate them back home.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar regarding the safety and evacuation of students from the war-torn country.

A total of 346 people are stranded in Ukraine, according to the district-wise update on stranded people reported at the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) of Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) till 3 pm on Friday.

As per the data, 115 among the stranded are from Bengaluru, 30 from Mysuru, 24 from Vijayapura, 22 from Bagalkote, 16 from Tumakuru, followed by others.

Earlier in the day, KSDMA had said 91 people were stranded and all of them are students (pursuing MBBS) in Ukraine.

The state government on Thursday had issued a notification appointing senior IFS officer Manoj Rajan, Commissioner, Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority, Revenue Department (Disaster Management), as the Nodal Officer to facilitate safe movement of stranded people/students from Karnataka in Ukraine to their respective destinations, and has set up a 24/7 helpline for this purpose.

”Today morning, I spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. He has gathered complete details. Several students who had gone to study medicine there from Karnataka are at a place called Kharkiv among others. They are all in touch, they are told to stay in a safe place,” Chief Minister Bommai said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, the Government of India is making all efforts to evacuate them as Russian-speaking diplomats are being sent to Ukraine.

”Efforts are being made to bring them back through land route, using diplomatic channels, as air space is closed there. There is also a thinking that people stranded in western Ukraine can be moved, but looking at the right time and security, the Indian Embassy will give instructions in this regard, they are in touch with all students,” he added.

Further stating that he has requested the External Affairs Minister to make necessary arrangements like food for the stranded students, the Chief Minister said, the state government and the Government of India has created helplines.

”Jaishankar has instructed that until the war situation eases to an extent, every one (stranded there) needs to be cautious. There has been no reports of harm or trouble to anyone so far, but there are reports of bombing at some places like near Kharkiv, among others,” he added.

KSDMA has created a web portal ‘http://ukraine.karnataka.tech’ to collect relevant information of stranded people in Ukraine who hail from Karnataka.

The state government after collating data on stranded students hailing from Karnataka through helpline number and web application, the details are shared with MEA control room in New Delhi and Embassy of India-Kyiv on near real-time basis, it said.

Further, the Chief Minister’s Office, Chief Secretary and Nodal Officers are personally pursuing stranded cases with the MEA and Embassy in Kyiv. The MEA is making alternative arrangements in mission mode for evacuation of Indian nationals since the Ukrainian airspace is closed.

MEA officers in the countries bordering Ukraine are in strategic locations for safe evacuation from alternative routes, it said, adding that: ”We request you to stay calm and face the situation with fortitude and be rest assured that the solution for safe evacuation is worked out on a mission mode.”