'Heckled, walked miles with Indian flag to cross Ukraine border': Odia students narrate ordeal

Odia students returning home from war-torn Ukraine on Friday narrated their ordeal of having to walk miles in sub-zero temperatures waiving the Indian Tricolour and being heckled by Ukrainian soldiers before crossing the border to safety.

The Odisha government said that 65 students from the state were rescued from war-ravaged Kharkiv during the day, and efforts are underway to evacuate all Odia students from Ukraine within the next 24 hours. It said at least 199 Odia students have returned to the state from the eastern European nation so far.

Aritri Angelina Behera, a medical student from Cuttack who was among the 11 students who returned to Odisha from Ukraine during the day, thanked both the Centre and the state government for making arrangements for their evacuation.

"Once we crossed Ukraine, representatives of the Indian Embassy and the Odisha government made all arrangements for our safe return. But the real challenge was crossing the country.

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"We lived in a bunker since February 24 and exited it only three days later. Every second was challenging while crossing Ukraine. However, we held the Indian Tricolour high and walked miles to reach the border," she said.

Eureka Choudhury, another student who returned to Odisha, alleged that Indians faced discrimination in Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian soldiers were cordial to Nigerians and others but were harsh on Indians. I was heckled by them before crossing the international border to enter Romania. We walked 12 km in minus six degrees Celsius, which was really painful," she said.

Asish Bisi and Dinesh Sahu, who returned from Kharkiv, said that more students are still trapped in Ukraine, and they need to be evacuated immediately as the situation was worsening by the day.

The Odisha government, which has nominated special representatives to coordinate the safe evacuation of people from the state, arranged special buses for the transportation of 65 students from Kharkiv to Ukraine's international borders, from where they would return to India.

The administration said that several people from Odisha have crossed over to Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia from where they were being evacuated by the Ministry of External Affairs on special flights.

The state government has deputed Vikramaditya, vice-president of KIIT and KISS universities, to look after overall coordination for evacuation of students from Poland, while Arushi Ray of UNHCR has been assigned to coordinate the safe passage of students who have reached Hungary.

Similarly, Baishali Mohanty, a UN policy officer in Rome, will look after the evacuation from Romania and Anurag Pattnaik, who is based in Hungary, will coordinate in Slovakia.

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