Adhere to Indian Embassy advisories, do not leave safe bunkers: Retired Major General PK Sehgal

New Delhi [India], March 1 (ANI): After an Indian student lost his life in shelling in Kharkiv city on Tuesday, defense expert Retired Major General PK Sehgal urged Indian citizens to adhere to the Indian Embassy advisory and asked them to not leave safe bunkers.
Sehgal in an inclusive interview to ANI said, "Kharkiv is attacked in a big way. Indian Embassy in Kyiv has asked Indians to not leave the safe bunkers. Save yourself and adhere to the notices of the Indian Embassy and do not violate those advisories.
Naveen Shekharappa, a medical student from Karnataka's Haveri died when Russian soldiers blew up a government building in Kharkiv this morning. Naveen was standing outside a grocery store when he was hit.
"This student went to mall to buy something, and the mall was attacked resulting in his death. It was unfortunate, all Indians felt bad for it. It's very difficult to get out of Kharkiv, not only for the students of the Indian community but also for reporters (electronic/print/digital/social). You cannot differentiate between a friend and foe in war" said the defense expert.
News of the student's death came within an hour of the Indian embassy in Ukraine asking its citizens to urgently leave the capital Kyiv.
"Advisory to Indians in Kyiv- All Indian nationals including students are advised to leave Kyiv urgently today. Preferably by available trains or through any other means available," a statement from the embassy read.
Further, he said that till yesterday, Embassy was advising Indians to be safe and careful as they will be arranging for their evacuation.
Indian officials were talking to both the Russian and Ukrainian governments for their safety and security so that Indian convoys and buses should not come under attack, but today the conditions have changed, so they have been advising Indians to reach the evacuation points as early as possible.
The Indian Embassy has advised its nationals to reach the Western side of Ukraine and contact the concerned authorities as per the advisory.
He also lauded Indian efforts in evacuating its citizens in the backdrop of an escalating fight between Russia and Ukraine.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Sunday said that the government of India has launched a multi-pronged evacuation plan titled 'Operation Ganga' to evacuate Indian citizens stranded in Ukraine, adding that thousands of Indian citizens have been flown out of the conflict-ridden country.
"Russian speaking officials to assist the evacuation of Indians, 24X7 helpline centres have been set-up and they can avail the facilities provided by the Embassy, they can talk to their parents, friends. At times like this, talking to someone releases the stress," said Sehgal.
Moreover, he also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative to use the Indian Air Force for the safe evacuation of Indians.
In order to scale up the ongoing evacuation efforts under 'Operation Ganga', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked the Indian Air Force to join the evacuation efforts, said sources.
The sources said that leveraging the capacities of the Air Force will ensure that more people can be evacuated in a shorter time frame. It will also help to deliver humanitarian aid more efficiently, sources added. Indian Air Force is likely to deploy several C-17 aircrafts as part of 'Operation Ganga' from today.
"PM Modi's assurance to use Indian Air Force will boost up the evacuation process, C141 star lifter and Hercules Globemaster can evacuate around 800-900 Indians in a single takeoff. He is very worried and organized 4 meetings regarding the safety and security of Indians in Ukraine. He sent 4 ministers to coordinate with foreign governments for safe evacution of Indians," said Sehgal.
MEA on Monday said that the 'Special Envoys' including Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju, and Gen (Retd) VK Singh will travel to neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate evacuations of stranded Indians amid ongoing Russian military operations. (ANI)