Indian students in Ukrainian city take shelter in basement after Russian invasion, seek evacuation
Washington(PTI): Nearly 400 Indian students in Ukraine's Sumy city bordering Russia have taken shelter in a basement after Russian forces took control of it and have appealed to the government of India to evacuate them.
Sumy in northeastern Ukraine is about 50 miles from the Russian border. The city mayor surrendered to Russian forces on Thursday.
The students, most of whom are studying in Sumy State Medical University, said they fear for their safety as gunshots can be heard outside.
"Right now, we are hiding in the basement of our dormitory. We do not know if this basement is enough for us to survive. We urge the Indian government to try to evacuate us from the eastern side of Ukraine," Lalit Kumar, one of the students, told PTI.
"Travelling on our own is not possible. Martial law has been imposed here and that means no outing, no cars, no buses and no private vehicle can travel. ATMs and supermarkets are also not working," he said.
The students also shared short videos of the basement they are hiding in.
Kumar, a fifth-year student, said they have limited supplies.
"We do not have enough supplies here to continue. The Indian government is our last hope... we want go to our motherland and see our loved ones. Kindly help us," he said in a message.
Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine on Wednesday night. Russia has launched multiple attacks on several areas in central and eastern Ukraine.
At a media briefing on Thursday, India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla assured all Indian citizens, including students, in Ukraine and their family members that the government will take all possible steps to bring them back safe and sound.
He said there were around 20,000 Indians in Ukraine and of them, nearly 4,000 have returned to India in the last few days.
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No role given to school teachers in matters related to stray dogs: Delhi education minister
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood on Tuesday rejected claims that teachers have been deployed to handle matters related to stray dogs around their educational institutions.
He said that no specific role has been assigned to school teachers in matters related to stray dogs.
Addressing a press conference, Sood alleged, "The Aam Aadmi Party leaders have been spreading misinformation on social media claiming that teachers were being diverted from their academic responsibilities for non-teaching duties."
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No such order or circular has been issued by the Delhi government, the minister said, and challenged the AAP to place any official document in the public domain to substantiate its claim.
The Directorate of Education directed schools in the national capital to appoint nodal officers to handle matters related to stray dogs around their educational institutions, in compliance with a Supreme Court order over the issue, but no such specific role has been assigned to teachers.
In an official statement issued on Monday, the directorate clarified, "No directions have been issued by the Directorate of Education concerning the assignment of specific duties to teachers."
There was no immediate response available from the Aam Aadmi Party to the allegations made by the education minister.
Sood further said that similar allegations were made by the AAP on several occasions in recent days, including claims related to administrative actions and school-related instructions, which he described as “incorrect”.
