Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said the central government is making arrangements to bring back Indian students stuck in Ukraine amid Russian invasion, and they will be brought home as soon as the eastern European country’s airspace opens up for civilian flights.
He said that the Union ministries of Home Affairs and Civil Aviation have taken up the issue of Indian students stuck in Ukraine very seriously.
Addressing a press conference here, Gadkari said, “Students not only from Vidarbha (region of Maharashtra), but from across India are pursuing medical courses in Ukraine. The Home and Civil Aviation ministries have taken up the issue of Indian students stuck in war-torn Ukraine very seriously.”
“India’s ambassador to Ukraine is preparing a list of students stuck in Ukraine and making arrangements to bring them back as soon as we get an an opportunity once the airspace there gets cleared,” he said.
Talking about the Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry’s Assistance to Disabled Persons (ADIP) campaign, Gadkari said camps will be organised in Nagpur to provide information about it.
“Under this campaign, senior citizens and physically-challenged persons from economically weaker sections will get wheelchairs, three-wheelers, Braille slates, walking sticks, elbow crutches, tripods, cervical collars, spectacles, etc free of cost,” he said.
AI planning to operate two flights to Bucharest to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine
Air India is planning to operate two flights to Romanian capital Bucharest on Friday to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine due to a Russian military offensive, senior government officials said.
Indian nationals who have reached the Ukraine-Romania border by road will be taken to Bucharest by officials of the Indian government so that they can be evacuated in the two Air India flights, they added.
The Ukrainian airspace was closed for civil aircraft operations by the country’s authorities on Thursday morning and therefore, the evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest. The two Air India flights will depart from Bucharest on Saturday, the officials said.
Air India did not respond to PTI’s request for comments on the development. Around 20,000 Indians — mainly students — are currently stranded in Ukraine, the officials noted.
The distance between Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the Romanian border is approximately 600 kilometres and it takes anywhere between eight-and-a-half to 11 hours to cover the distance by road.
The distance from the Ukraine-Romania border to Bucharest is approximately 500 kilometres and it takes anywhere between seven to nine hours to cover the distance by road.
