New Delhi: A total of 72 students from Maharashtra have been brought back from war-hit Ukraine so far and they are travelling to their native places in different parts of the state, the government said on Sunday.
On Sunday, arrangements have been made for 42 students who landed in Delhi to go to their homes in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nanded, an official from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.
The state government is bearing the expenses of evacuees landing in Mumbai or Delhi from Ukraine for their journey to their native places in Maharashtra, he said.
The state administration had collected details of 800 students hailing from Maharashtra stranded in Ukraine and submitted them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he added.
He said emails and telephone numbers of the Mantralaya control room in Mumbai were also circulated to enable citizens to inform the administration.
The details are being sent to the Indian authorities in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and other countries.
The RT-PCR test is conducted free at the Mumbai airport. On February 26, the test of 218 passengers was conducted.
On Saturday, the first Air India flight carrying 219 Indian evacuees from Ukraine, including students, had landed at the Mumbai airport from Bucharest, Romania under operation Ganga.
The Ukrainian airspace has been closed for civil aircraft operations since the morning of February 24 and therefore, the evacuation flights are operating out of Bucharest and Budapest.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra minister Vijay Wadettiwar said that 1,200 students from the state are stranded in Ukraine, which has been invaded by Russia, of which just 300 have been able to contact their parents.
In a press release issued here, Wadettiwar, MLA from Bramhapuri in the Chandrapur district, said the state government will make all efforts to get them back safely.
"The state government is in touch with the Centre, which is taking efforts to fly them to safety. Collectors have been asked to get details of such students hailing from their districts. People can also contact on the state helpline numbers and control room email ID," he said.