Gujarati community in Poland extends help to Indians arriving from Ukraine
Darpan News Desk IANS, 28 Feb, 2022 11:53 AM
Gandhinagar, Feb 28 (IANS) The Gujarati community along with others, residing in Poland, have come forward to help the Indians, fleeing from the war hit Ukraine. The community members are offering food and shelter to the Indians reaching to Poland from Ukraine.
Talking to the IANS, Gruhang Patel, residing in Warsaw, said, "Looking at the current situation in Ukraine, me and my friends decided to help the Indian students from Ukraine, who are entering into the Polland. We helped around 25 to 30 such students. Thereafter, throughout the entire day, we recieved good response from the Gujarati community in taking forward our initiative."
"The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan (BAPS) institute and the Sindhi community as well as the Gurudwara in Poland have come forward to help the stranded students as well as Indians evacuated from Ukraine," Patel said.
"We have set aside two warehouses in Warsaw, where we can accommodate around 250 to 300 persons. Besides that, many Gujarati families have opened up their doors for help. The BAPS institution's centres in Poland do not have cooking facilities, so a special Food Van has been called from the BAPS in Paris to provide food to the people," he said.
"The Sindhi community in the country has also come forward and assured of providing food and shelter to around 150 people. Similarly, the Gurudwara here has also made arrangements for providing food and accommodation to 50. In all, we can accommodate around 750 persons," added Patel.
"Right now, throughout the day, after I shared a video on social media, around hundred people, coming from Ukraine, contacted me and of them 8 to 15 people are on their way. Our team members are there on the Polish-Ukrainian border to assist the Indians who are entering Poland and they will provide them all the necessary help," he said.
"I urge to those who are on the way to Poland, please be assured that you will be taken care of and not to worry about anything," Patel asserted.
"The Gujarati are a global community and has a very strong presence in Poland. Whenever such kind of need arises, the Gujarati community always comes forward to help," said Divyang Gandhi, of the Divya group of companies.
Gruhang Patel, Warsaw can be contacted on +48729663296.
There are an estimated 25,000 Indian students in Ukraine alone who are pursuing medicine, engineering, and science courses. More than 2,500 students from Tamil Nadu are estimated to be studying in Ukraine.
The Foreign Secretary stated that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken to his Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, and Slovakian counterparts for setting up a camp at border areas for evacuation of stranded Indian nationals. He also stated that flight options are available through Dubai and Istanbul and that the Indian Embassy continues to be operational in Ukraine.
The Ministry of External Affairs in touch with all the neighbouring countries surrounding Ukraine to even evacuate Indian citizens. Many citizens who were to fly back to India were left at the airport after closure of Ukrainian airspace following Russia's Vladimir Putin announcement of a military operation in Ukraine.
Amidst the prevailing tension, the Indian students stranded in Ukraine are left with no choice but to queue up outside the Indian Embassy in Kiev seeking the authorities' help as they ran out of food and money. The Russian military actions in Ukraine have triggered panic among all sections, including students from India.
Clashes have also been taking place around the capital Kiev in the north and the Black Sea port cities of Odesa and Mariupol in the south, the report said. Air strikes from Russia have been carried out on Ukrainian military bases and airports, with fierce fighting reported around a key airport near Kiev.
The top of the Tower shone bright with a burnt orange top Tuesday, February 22, 2022 to celebrate student Jaskaran Singh’s victory in the “Jeopardy! National College Championship" shared the university's website.
