Emotional scenes on coming home

Mumbai: There were emotional scenes at Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport as 219 students landed from the war zone in Ukraine. They heaved a sigh of relief.

The elated students clapped and thanked Union Minister Piyush Goyal who was present at the airport to receive them. As the flight landed, the minister went inside the aircraft and briefly interacted with the students. He told them to convey to all their friends and contacts in Ukraine that "The mother never leaves her children in peril," and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was himself monitoring the evacuation process and all-out efforts would be made to bring all of them safely out of Ukraine.

Later talking to media, the Union Minister praised the braveness and self-confidence of the students in braving the travails till they boarded the flight. He also spoke to the crew and thanked them for their efforts in evacuating the students. According to the crew, the students clapped as they boarded the flight and shouted slogans like "Bharat Mata Ki Jai".

They were happy, a crew member said. The students thanked the Prime Minister for the initiative. They said it was a long drive to Romania, but the officials extended all possible help. They said, "We were confident of being evacuated and that Prime Minister Modi would do everything necessary. We were not worried on that count. But what caused concern was what if bombs explode on way to airport. Fortunately, en route to Bucharest there were no explosions.

Of the 219 students five students, Pothala Venkatadhar Reddy, Tenneti Venkata Suma, Afreen Ahmed, Amritansh and Varanasi Swethasri are from Andhra Pradesh.

Officials made necessary arrangements for speedy clearance at the immigration at the airport. Arrangements for their stay till they board the onward flight to their respective destinations has also been made, officials said.

Another ten students belonging to Andhra Pradesh, Rajulapati Anusha, Simma Kohima Vyshali, Vemula Vamsi Kumar, Abhishek Mantri, Jayasree, Harshita, Shaik Farzana Kausar and Surya Sai Kiran are said to be among the 200 students who would land in Delhi on Sunday morning. According to official sources there are about 700 Telugu students in Ukraine.