Efforts on to bring 200 students stuck in Ukraine: Karnataka CM Bommai

Bommai said there were four people from Dharwad stranded in Ukraine, of which two have returned

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said efforts are on to airlift nearly 200 students from Karnataka who are stranded in the bunkers in Kharkiv in war-torn Ukraine.

"There are 200 students from Karnataka stuck in the bunkers in Kharkiv. The Indian Embassy in Ukraine is working hard to bring them to India. We are also in constant touch with the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is personally monitoring the rescue operation and efforts are on to bring students to India," Bommai told reporters here.

The Chief Minister welcomed Chaithra Gangadhar Saunshi from village Yaraguppi in Kundakol in Dharwad district, who returned from Kharkiv.

Read | Embassy did everything possible in Ukraine: Student

According to the Chief Minister's office, Saunshi was studying in Kharkiv Ukraine when the war broke out between Russia and Ukraine and Kharkiv was among the worst affected places. The CMO said Saunshi was holed up in a bunker for a week and then she walked for nine kilometres and reached Poland. After crossing the Ukraine border the Indian embassy authorities helped her fly to India. After reaching New Delhi she arrived in Karnataka.

Saunshi's parents have thanked the Indian government for bringing their daughter back to the country. The Chief Minister said there were four people from Dharwad stranded in Ukraine, of which two have returned while the remaining two have crossed the Ukraine border. Regarding bringing back S G Naveen's body, a fourth year medical student in Kharkiv who died in the shelling in Kharkiv on March 1, Bommai said the Indian Embassy in Ukraine has been working there.

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