'Walked for 6 km in harsh weather to reach Romanian border'

Mranal Rajesh, a first-year MBBS student at Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, was greeted warmly by his father Rajesh, mother Sandhya and grandmother Vasanthi when he arrived at his home in Sampige Nagara in Udyavara in Udupi district on Monday.

It was a most anxiously awaited reunion. Speaking to the reporters, Mranal said his journey was arduous. He returned from war-torn Ukraine after battling harsh weather by walking six kilometres after the bus that was transporting a group of students, including him, was unable to take them all the way to the Romanian border at Siret due to traffic congestion.

Mranal said that while the situation in Ivano was not as bad as in Kharkiv or Kyiv, fear gripped him and other students after the bombing of the airport just five kilometres away from the apartment where he was staying on February 24. As a result, they decided to relocate to Poland’s border on Friday. As the Poland border was already congested, they decided to proceed to the Romanian border.

The Indians were picked up by the buses arranged by the Indian Embassy to send them to Bucharest International Airport. Romanian government offered food and water by setting up counters free of cost.

He said he travelled free of cost from Bucharest to Mangaluru. He had to spend 12 hours just for visa verification standing in a queue on Saturday and he boarded the Air India flight on Sunday.

Mranal is now worried about his uncertain future as his parents have spent nearly Rs 7.5 lakh for college and hostel fees.