Three youth from Rajasthan, who were pursuing their MBBS in Ukraine, have returned to the desert state and said that they had to pay three times the normal airfare, as the situation remains tense in the east European country with soldiers seen all around.
The three students are Lokesh Meena, Rajkumar Meena and Lakshya Rajawat, all from Jhalawad district in Rajasthan. Their parents were in tears on seeing their kids return home.
Madhu Kunwar Rajawat, the mother of Lakshya, said, "I request the government to arrange additional low-cost flights so that other students can return too. Their parents must also be worried like us."
Lakshya said that he spent Rs 62,000 instead of Rs 23,000 to return to India from Ukraine.
"The situation is quite tense there as there are soldiers all around. Our family members were tense and hence asked us to return in whatever way we could. Hence we returned. However, there are many other students who want to come back but are helpless due to the high ticket costs and limited seats," he said.
Lokesh said that all the students stuck in Ukraine want to return to India, but the exorbitant airfares are holding them back.
"They can't afford the tickets which are priced four times more than the normal fare. Hence the need of the hour is to reduce the flight rates. Even the flights charging four times more are getting filled. So the students are getting tense," he said.
On Tuesday, the government had again advised Indian students to leave Ukraine "in the interest of their safety" following increase in tensions between the east European country and Russia. It was the third such advisory issued in the past week.
The students have been advised, in the interest of their safety, to leave Ukraine temporarily, rather than wait for an official confirmation from the universities [regarding classes], the Indian Embassy in Ukraine said in a brief statement posted on its social media handles.
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