Odisha CM urges PM Modi to facilitate continuance of studies of medical students returning from Ukraine in colleges in India

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention with the National Medical Commission and ministries concerned to enable the continuation of the education of medical students returning from Ukraine in medical colleges across India.

The Chief Minister mentioned that this is an unprecedented crisis that has the potential of disrupting the careers of thousands of young men and women who have already gone through the trauma of being in the "war zone".

In the letter, Patnaik wrote, "In view of the situation in Ukraine, a large number of medical students from Odisha and other parts of India had to return back home. The disruption in their studies is likely to continue until the cessation of the hostilities and restoration of normalcy in their universities in Ukraine."

"This is an unprecedented crisis that has the potential of disrupting the careers of several thousands of young men and women who have already gone through the trauma of being in the war zone," the letter read.

The letter read, "I would, therefore request for your urgent intervention with the National Medical Commission and the ministries concerned to enable and facilitate continuance of their studies in the medical colleges in India from the stage from which their studies in Ukraine have been disrupted on account of the war. I assure you of our full support of the Government of Odisha for implementing a workable solution for this purpose."

The Indian Embassy on Sunday said that the last leg of 'Operation Ganga' has begun, asking the stranded students to reach the Hungarian City Center in Budapest.

Separately Indian Embassy in Kyiv also urged its nationals who are still in Ukraine to register themselves for the evacuation process under 'Operation Ganga'.

Meanwhile, the MEA yesterday informed that almost all Indians have left Kharkiv city of Ukraine and the main focus of the government is to evacuate citizens from Sumy as it is challenging amid ongoing violence and lack of transportation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent four special envoys to Ukraine's neighbouring countries from where Indians are being evacuated.

Four cabinet ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiran Rijiju, General (Retd) VK Singh, and Hardeep Singh Puri have been on the job for the last many days. A former diplomat Hardeep Puri has been stationed in Hungary to coordinate their efforts to evacuate Indian students here.

Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk -as independent entities.

Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow.

( With inputs from ANI )