Panic mounts among Indian medical students stranded in conflict-hit Iran

Fear and uncertainty have gripped several Indian students stranded in Iran as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate with many appealing to the Indian government for evacuation or relocation to safer placesFatima a student at the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences said around 25 to 30 Indian students are currently stuck in the region and are living in constant anxietyRight now there are 25 to 30 of us here and we earnestly request the government to take us to a safe place or evacuate us to our parents in our home country until the situation stabilises she saidExplaining why they have been unable to leave earlier Fatima said academic commitments had made it difficult We had to stay here because of the university We didnrsquot want to but due to classes exams rounds and hospital shifts staying here was unavoidable she saidAccording to her the university administration has informed first and secondyear students that their next semester will be conducted online giving them the option to either remain in Iran or return home and come back in April for examinations However finalyear students nearing graduation are required to continue attending hospital shifts dailyThey have just told us to stay safe in the dorms and not go outside On top of that they are pressuring us to move to another dorm They are pressuring us day and night to vacate the current dorms she claimedFatima further said that several students are currently not on campus but staying indoors in residential accommodations surviving on limited resourcesWe are not on campus right now we are at home making do with whatever resources we have We are sharing supplies with our friends and eating what we have The shops are also closed and we canrsquot even order online We are not supposed to step out she saidCommunication with families back in India has also become increasingly difficult due to internet disruptionsIt is very difficult for those with internet access to contact them For those without internet or VPN they are forced to make international calls which are rare As a result we have very limited communication with our parents she saidDescribing the tense atmosphere Fatima said explosions were heard near their area though the exact location remained unclear It happened near the campus though some say it occurred farther away We do not know the exact location yet but it feels very close to the campus she saidI am currently in the state of Isfahan Iran Given the current situation even while staying in the dormitory we do not feel safe at all There is no sense of security at home We are hearing a lot of explosions around us There is a lot of panic and uncertainty she addedShe also highlighted the distress being faced by their families back home ldquoParents are worried more than us as they are constantly monitoring the situation through news updates They are even more scared than us she saidWith the security situation remaining volatile the stranded students have urged Indian authorities to intervene at the earliest and ensure their safety until normalcy returns to the regionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever