First batch of 15 students of Telangana, who were evacuated from war-torn Ukraine, reached here on Sunday.
Emotional scenes were witnessed at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport as parents and other family members received the students who landed here from Mumbai.
These students were part of 218 evacuees, who reached Mumbai on Saturday night by the first evacuation flight of Air India, which had taken off from Bucharest.
Officials from the Telangana government received the students at Hyderabad Airport. Principal Secretary, General Administration Department, Vikas Raj and MLA Prakash Goud were among those who welcomed the students.
The students thanked the government of India and the state government for ensuring their safe evacuation.
They said they crossed the border to reach Romania and from there they boarded the flight. The students said the Indian embassy and the authorities of their universities rendered all the assistance for their return.
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“We were in the west side of Ukraine which is a safe zone as the war happening on eastern side. We crossed the border to reach Romania by bus. We were somewhat scared but thanks to the efforts of the Indian embassy and our university authorities, we reached Romania safely and from there boarded the flight,” said one of the students.
The students said their friends remained stranded. Some were still in hostels while some were in bunkers. Another student said many students could not come back due to high travel charges ranging from Rs 70,000 to Rs 90,000.
Minister for industries and information technology K.T. Rama Rao expressed happiness over arrival of the first lot of students from Ukraine. “We are receiving multiple requests from parents and students. Will ensure all of them are attended to as early as possible,” he said.
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According to officials at Telangana Bhavan in New Delhi, a total of 23 students from the state have returned to India. Some more students will be reaching Hyderabad later in the day.
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