91 people from Karnataka stranded in Ukraine, CM Bommai speaks to External Affairs Minister
Bengaluru(PTI): The Karnataka government on Friday said 91 people from the state are stranded in Ukraine and all of them are students pursuing MBBS there.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai spoke to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar regarding the safety and evacuation of students from the war-torn country.
According to Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), as per the district wise information of stranded persons received by its control room till 6 AM today, all 91 reported are students (pursuing MBBS) in Ukraine.
All this information collected at the 24/7 control room has been shared with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Embassy of India, Kyiv, Ukraine to make all possible arrangements for the safe evacuation of stranded students hailing from Karnataka, it said.
Further, MEA officers in the countries bordering Ukraine are in strategic locations for safe evacuation from alternative routes, the KSDMA release said, adding that "we request to stay calm and face the situation with fortitude and be rest assured that the solution for safe evacuation is worked out on a mission mode."
Among the students stranded 28 are from Bengaluru, 10 from Mysuru, five each from Ballari and Hassan, followed by others.
KSDMA said as per the latest information from MEA, its teams have headed to land borders of Ukraine on February 24, and to assist in the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine, MEA Teams are being sent to the land borders with Ukraine in Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Romania.
The state government on Thursday issued a notification appointing senior IFS officer Manoj Rajan, Commissioner, Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority, Revenue Department (Disaster Management), as the Nodal Officer to facilitate safe movement of stranded people/students from Karnataka in Ukraine to their respective destinations, and has set up 24/7 Helpline for this purpose.
"Today morning I spoke to External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, he has gathered complete details. Several students who had gone to study medicine there from Karnataka are at a place called Kharkiv among others, they are all in touch, they are told to stay in a safe place," Chief Minister Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, Government of India is making all efforts to evacuate them, Russian speaking diplomats are being sent to Ukraine.
"Efforts are being made to bring them back through land route, using diplomatic channels, as air space is closed there. There is also a thinking that people stranded at Western Ukraine can be moved, but looking at the right time and security, the Indian Embassy will give instructions in this regard, they are in touch with all students," he added.
Further stating that he has requested the External Affairs Minister to make necessary arrangements like food for the stranded students, the Chief Minister said, the state government and the Government of India has created helplines.
"Jaishankar has instructed that until the war situation eases to an extent, every one (stranded there) needs to be cautious. There has been no reports of harm or trouble to anyone so far, but there are reports of bombing at some places like near Kharkiv, among others," he added.
KSDMA has also created a web portal 'http://ukraine.karnataka.tech', which can be operated on a mobile also, to collect relevant information of stranded people in Ukraine who hail from Karnataka.
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SP chief accuses BJP of "moving bulldozer" on martyr's memorial, UP minister denies allegation
Lucknow/Mainpuri (UP), Sep 1: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday claimed the "BJP is now moving bulldozers" even on the memorials of martyrs in Uttar Pradesh, a charge that was rubbished by a state minister and district administration.
His wife Dimple Yadav, Lok Sabha from Mainpuri, said martyrs were being insulted to "benefit the BJP land mafia".
Their remarks came over an incident in Mainpuri district's Kishni tehsil where the boundary wall of a memorial built to honour Kargil martyr Munish Yadav was allegedly demolished by officials last week.
Tourism and Culture Minister Jayveer Singh said the allegations levelled by the SP leaders were "baseless" and "devoid of any fact".
Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Kishni (SDM) Gopal Sharma told PTI the martyr's wife Manju Devi and his brother Avnish Kumar had complained to District Magistrate Avinash Krishna on Friday that in connivance with the land mafia, the boundary wall of the memorial was bulldozed by the 'lekhpal' and 'kanungo' (revenue officials) on August 29, without giving any notice.
Sharma said an illegal temporary construction near the statue was demolished, but the boundary wall of the memorial was not touched.
The SDM also said that the district magistrate has ordered an inquiry and the 'lekhpal' involved in the matter has been suspended.
The SP president condemned the incident, saying, "The BJP is now moving bulldozers on the memorials of martyrs."
"The administration has done the audacity to destroy the statue memorial of Kargil martyr Munish Yadav built in 2000 in Mainpuri at the behest of the government, which is causing a silent anger among the soldiers and patriots of the country," Yadav added in a statement issued by the party.
"The BJP leaders can never understand the value of martyrdom of those who sacrificed their lives for the honour of the country because history is a witness (to the fact) that those who, instead of supporting the freedom fighters in the independence movement, acted as the eyes and ears of the colonial rulers -- how can they know the value of sacrifice?" he said.
Yadav also said that the BJP's politics has started "discriminating even among martyrs" and called it "the worst form of negative politics."
He added that if the BJP has even a little bit of shame left, it should immediately suspend all the senior officials from 'mandal' to the district level and restore the statue-memorial with full respect, otherwise, the Samajwadi Party will step in and rebuild the statue.
Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav in a post on X in Hindi, said that "martyrs are being insulted to benefit BJP land mafia".
"...Taking away the respect of those who sacrificed their lives for the country through the administration under pressure from bullies shows the insensitivity of this government," she added.
Speaking to PTI, Singh, who is also the MLA from Mainpuri, asserted, "The statue of the martyr is safe."
Elaborating further, he told PTI, "A soldier belonging to the Yadav community had attained martyrdom, and his memorial was built in a village in Kishni tehsil of Mainpuri district. About 60-70 metres from the statue, there is a chak road (the road which leads to a farm). The brother of the martyr had illegally blocked the road by installing barbed wires."
"Villagers have been submitting applications regularly in the tehsil office, so that the road could be restored (for public use). Two days ago, the lekhpal had gone there, and had identified it. The road is still closed, and the person (martyr's brother) has been asked to remove the barbed wire," Singh said.
SDM Sharma said, "The allegations of demolition of the boundary wall of the martyr's memorial are false."
The district administration had approved land for the martyr's memorial in Ghutara village, which was built 50 metres away from the chak road. However, some people built an illegal construction on a section of the road, blocking access for other farmers, he told PTI.
After complaints, the revenue officials measured the area and removed the illegal construction to restore access. The boundary wall of the memorial remains untouched, the officer added.
भाजपा अब शहीदों के स्मारक पर भी बुलडोज़र चलवा रही है। मैनपुरी में कारगिल के वीर शहीद मुनीश यादव के सन् 2000 में बने प्रतिमा स्मारक को मिट्टी में मिलाने का जो दुस्साहस प्रशासन ने शासन के इशारे पर किया है, उससे देश के सैनिकों और देशप्रेमियों के बीच मूक आक्रोश पनप रहा है।
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) August 31, 2024
देश के… pic.twitter.com/qsQNPn818z
भाजपाई भूमाफियाओं को फायदा पहुंचाने के लिए हो रहा शहीदों का अपमान !
— Dimple Yadav (@dimpleyadav) September 1, 2024
मैनपुरी में कारगिल वीर शहीद स्व. मुनेश यादव जी की प्रतिमा को योगी आदित्यनाथ के प्रशासन ने भू माफियाओं के दबाव में बुलडोजर से तोड़ा, शर्मनाक।
दबंगों के दबाव में प्रशासन के माध्यम से देश के लिए अपनी जान न्योछावर… pic.twitter.com/MYVIiCbNe8
