Tamil Nadu government on Friday announced that it will bear the flight expenses of 5,000 students stranded in Ukraine due to the war situation. The decision by the government comes a day after it set up a round-the-clock control room at the Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi to help students from the state plan their travel.
In a statement, the government said as many as 916 students from the state currently studying in Ukraine have touched base with officials till 10 am on Friday. “The Chief Minister has announced that the state government will bear the flight expenses of the students,” the statement read.
The decision will come as a reprieve to the students and parents who have been worried about the safety of their children as well as the increase in the fligt ticket prices. The statement said the students can get in touch with Jacintha Lazarus, Commissioner of Rehabilitation and Welfare of Non Resident Tamils, at (0) 9445869848, 9600023645. 9940256444, and 044-28515288. She can also be reached at nrtchennai@gmail.com.
Students can also WhatsApp their details to (0) 9289516716 or ukrainetamils@gmail.com to reach the control room at Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi.
An estimated 5,000 students, most of them pursuing professional courses, and emigrants from Tamil Nadu are stranded in Ukraine due to the war. Stalin had on Thursday written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to inform him that the government was receiving hundreds of distress calls from the family members of the students studying in Ukraine requesting their urgent evacuation.
“I request the Government of India to take up this issue with the authorities there for evacuating them out of Ukraine immediately. I also request the Government of India to arrange for Special Mission Flights like Vande Bharath Mission to evacuate them from various parts of Ukraine,” he had said.
Thousands of students from Tamil Nadu are pursuing medicine and other professional courses in Ukraine.
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