Bhubaneswar: Amid the Ukraine-Russia war, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday has announced that the State Government will bear the expenses for bringing back students and workers of Odisha those who have been stranded in Ukraine.
The Chief Minister has also directed that Development Commissioner-cum-Special Relief Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena will coordinate the overall issue of bringing back citizens from Odisha.
The Chief Minister has further directed the District Administration to collect information regarding students and workers in Ukraine and effectively coordinate with their family members at this hour of crisis.
It is to be noted that a special assistance cell has also been made functional in the office of Resident Commissioner of Odisha, Odisha Bhawan in New Delhi from where IPS Ravi Kant will coordinate with the Government of India over this issue.
Earlier this morning, the Chief Minister had spoken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the safe evacuation of stranded Odia students as well as the laborers from the war-affected Ukraine.
More than 1500 students from Odisha have been stuck in Ukraine and are anxiously waiting to be evacuated to their hometown. The worried family members ad appealed to the Centre as well as the Odisha government to take necessary steps for help and the safe rescue of the students.
The majority of students are located in Kharkiv and Kyiv’s educational centres who ran out of food and water. They were unable to locate food, withdraw cash, or communicate with their parents due to disruptions in banking, internet, and communication services. Earlier on Thursday evening, many were shifted to bomb shelters and safe zones following the third advisory by the Indian Embassy.
About 20 students from Bandhabahal area of Jharsuguda, a medical student of Mayurbhanj’s Karanjia area, Pankaj Kumar Mahanta, MBBS students of Jagatsinghpur district’s Ohala village Ashis Kumar Sahoo, Odia student Subhalaxmi Baral of Anandpur, Hitanshu Sekhar Muduli of Balasore, Ankit Patel of Bartankela village in Sundargarh, have been stuck in Ukraine.
Similarly, around 15 students from Dhenkanal, and from Balangir, Kandhamal, Sambalpur, Bargarh districts have also been stuck in the war-affected country.
Ms Kalinga