Visakhapatnam: Waiting with bated breath to return home

Visakhapatnam: Telugu students who came to Ukraine with eyes that host a million dreams have no clue about what is in store for them the next moment.

Amid escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine, the students pin hope that the embassies concerned would step forward to help them reach their hometown.

Despite trying to return to India in the past one week, conditions remained unfavourable to hundreds of Indian students who are studying in Ukraine.

With no water and food to consume and the sound of explosions drawing closer with each passing hour, every minute turns out to be an ordeal for them.

For the Telugu students, who flew to Ukraine to achieve academic goals and fulfil their aspirations, the situation is quite dreadful as they have been left in the dark.

With essential supplies getting depleted, shops being closed down, ATM machines running dry, flights being cancelled, banks being shuttered down and net banking not being functional, the Telugu students express their fear over spending unpredictable days thousands of miles away from home.

Recalling her horrifying experience, Vizag-based Nomula Satya Sreeja, who is studying first year MBBS in Kharkiv National Medical University in Kharkiv, says, "In the midnight, we heard an explosion from a distance. But in the morning it was so close. Every moment is quite uncertain here as a number of students have been stranded in Ukraine. At the moment, we are asked to stay put in our hostel basement and most of us have very limited essential supplies to keep us going."

Elaborating the situation further, Vaidada Lakshitha, another MBBS student from Maddilapalem, Vizag, says, "Last night, it was a different scenario. Now it is even scarier. There are no proper signals and the power supply is partial. Though we bought some of the essential supplies, we don't know when we would run out of them. Even water is being consumed economically as we may run out of stock sooner or later."

Although some of the students booked tickets a little early, the flights have been cancelled. "We sensed a war-like situation in advance and booked our flight tickets for this month-end. However, with multiple explosions near the main airport in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, we have no clue about what is in store for us as there are no flights available at present," shares Naganaboina Ganesh, who went to Ukraine to pursue his higher studies.

Meanwhile, a number of first year students expressed concern over lack of temporary residence permit as it would further affect their return.