A single mother, who once rode nearly 1,400 kms on a scooter during the coronavirus-induced lockdown in 2020 to bring her son back home, has been frantic with worry about the 19-year-old boy who is now stranded in war-hit Ukraine along with several Indian students.
Razia Begum, a teacher at a government school in Telangana's Nizamabad district, is praying for the safe return of her son Nizamuddin Aman, who is pursuing MBBS first year at Sumy in the eastern European nation.
Sumy is situated close to the Russian border and most of the Indian students belong to the Sumy State Medical University.
She urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, state Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali to take steps to ensure the safe return of her ward and other Indian students amid the tense stand-off between Russia and Ukraine.
Nizamuddin Aman is staying put in bunkers and is communicating with her over phone, the woman told PTI on Thursday.
"He called to reassure me that he is okay and that I need not worry about him," she said.
Transportation links with the place he is staying is said to have been cut off.
Two years ago, Razia Begum undertook a long and arduous journey, to bring back her son stranded in Nellore district in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh following imposition of nation-wide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Armed with local police permission, she rode solo to Nellore and had returned with her younger son, showing an endurance level even seasoned rallyists would find hard to match.