Belagavi, (Karnataka) : Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Mining Pralhad Joshi stated on Monday that the rescue operation launched by the Indian government to bring back Indian students from war-torn Ukraine is a big challenge.
Speaking to reporters at Belagavi Sambre Airport, he stated there is confusion about the existing situation in Ukraine. It is not verified that the videos that are coming from Ukraine are real or fake. “We have started the process of evacuation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.
In this critical situation aircraft evacuating students from Ukraine came back on Sunday. “We have spoken with the countries neighbouring Ukraine. Out attempts are on, we will get the cooperation from the neighbouring states of Ukraine to pursue our goal,” he stated.
“The Indian government will bear the cost of evacuation and students are required to choose between Mumbai and New Delhi cities. I am in touch with the Union External Affairs Minister as well as Union State Minister for Foreign Affairs. Since, the situation is complex, we will also need to talk to Russia as well as Ukraine,” he said.
“Our priority is to bring back our nationals and indeed it is a big challenge for us. The evacuation operation was successfully carried out from Iraq and Afghanistan earlier where there was a crisis situation,” he said.
The war erupted suddenly leading to the crisis situation. Geographically Ukraine is big country. The aircraft carrying students from Ukraine are arriving in India on Monday also. The Indian government is working sensibly in this regard, he explained.
As many as 406 students from Karnataka have enrolled for evacuation from Ukraine through the helpline established by the state government. So far 42 students have come back to the state.
–IANS