Ukraine crisis: 'Drew Tricolour on handkerchief to escape'

Raj Sadosh

Abohar, March 9

Diksha Vij, a second-year MBBS student at the Kharkiv National Medical University in Ukraine, drew Indian flag on a handkerchief using dry colours and used it as a shield in Kharkiv. She returned to Abohar today. Her group had landed in Amritsar on Tuesday. She was welcomed here by her father Rakesh Vij and mother Sapna.

Sharing her experience, Diksha said while she was in Kharkiv, an alert was sounded to leave the city. She, along with other girls, reached a metro station by walking for 6 km but could not board a train. Amid shelling, they walked for 15 km more to reach a bunker in Pesochin. On their way, they saw bodies of Ukrainians, who died due to bombing, lying on the road. But they continued with their journey.

She said they faced difficulty in making arrangements for food and water during their three-day stay at the bunker. “We were being assured of support but the Indian Embassy was expressing its inability to deliver food due to dire circumstances. It was also difficult to maintain contact with our families due to poor connectivity. Guidance and cooperation of Dr Karanpal Singh Sandhu, a facilitator of Ludhiana, was helpful in maintaining our morale. After four days of uncertain atmosphere, buses were arranged and the students reached Poland and Romania via various routes,” she said.

After reaching Romania, we saw excellent arrangements were made by the Indian Embassy. The Government of India arranged for free air travel from Romania to Delhi. State government representatives were also present at the airport. But the returnees felt dismayed when traders outside the Delhi airport tried to fleece them and taunted them as they moved out for shopping, said Diksha.