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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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
