Thread by @srirags

@KanchanGupta @businessline @the_hindu @MaliniP @KanchanGupta The tweet put out by my colleague @ParBen24 is based on information given to her by @yaazhini_pm of the DMK NRI wing. Parvathi 's sister was stranded in Ukraine and that's how she's acquainted with the happenings. 1/n

@KanchanGupta @businessline @the_hindu @MaliniP @ParBen24 I have confirmed the following by talking to people involved in the operation directly, and to a student from Madurai who's actually in the bus now on way from Pisochyn to Ternobil in west Ukraine from where they hope to connect with the GoI for evacuation through Romania2/n

@KanchanGupta @businessline @the_hindu @MaliniP @ParBen24 The bus was arranged by a doctor practicing in Ranipet, TN, who passed out of Kharkiv Medical University in 2018. He arranged the bus using his contacts at the request of a bureaucrat from the TN govt. There are 70 students in the bus from various states, 35 of them from TN 3/n

@KanchanGupta @businessline @the_hindu @MaliniP @ParBen24 The cost per student was $500 adding up to $17,500 for the 35 TN students paid for by the TN govt. The money was transferred to an agent in Pisochyn who arranged the buses. It is not known how the other 35 students paid for their journey 4/n

@KanchanGupta @businessline @the_hindu @MaliniP @ParBen24 All this and as done on the space of 4 hours last evening and the students immediately drove out of Pisochyn and halted at a place called Poltova for the night. They're now in their way to Ternobil according to the Madurai student I just spoke with. He's on the bus.5/n

@KanchanGupta @businessline @the_hindu @MaliniP @ParBen24 While the GoI has done commendable work in evacuating students from Ukraine the fact is that this group of 35 students were rescued due to the private contacts of a TN govt bureaucrat. 6/n

@KanchanGupta @businessline @the_hindu @MaliniP @ParBen24 Let's not belittle the efforts of anyone to rescue our kids in Ukraine. And please let's not play politics in this. Every effort matters, wherever it comes from. The GoI, as I said, is doing an outstanding job. But it can surely do with help from others. 7/n

@KanchanGupta @businessline @the_hindu @MaliniP @ParBen24 @yazhini_pm @MaliniP @KanchanGupta @DrSJaishankar #OperationGanga n/n

@KanchanGupta @businessline @the_hindu @MaliniP @ParBen24 @yazhini_pm @DrSJaishankar I can confirm that the bureaucrat who organised this is the Commisioner for Welfare of Non-resident Tamilians, GoTN, Ms. Jacintha Lazarus. She went to great pains to explain to me that this was a "complementary effort" to the great job being done by GoI...

@KanchanGupta @businessline @the_hindu @MaliniP @ParBen24 @yazhini_pm @DrSJaishankar "Rescuing 35 students is a small effort compared to the 20,000 students rescued by GoI," she told me, adding, "this is not aimed at anyone or the GoI. This is our reaction when we heard of distress of some Tamil students."

@KanchanGupta @businessline @the_hindu @MaliniP @ParBen24 @yazhini_pm @DrSJaishankar And yes, the money was transferred from the GoTN account with IOB in Chennai.