Kolkata, Aug. 27 -- What began as a pilgrimage has turned into an agonising wait for many families across Bengal, as phones fell silent and hope gave way to mounting anxiety, as thirty-two people from the state remain untraceable after devastating flash floods swept through Nepal, with at least 21 of those missing believed to be senior citizens.
Among those missing is Sharmistha Bhowmik Roy, daughter-in-law of late politician Mukul Roy. She had left Kolkata on August 21 with the group. Her husband, Shubhrangshu Roy, last spoke to her on Tuesday night. Since the disaster struck, repeated attempts to contact her have failed, leaving the family desperate for even a single update.
But the Roy family is not alone in this agonising wait. In Naktala, Kolkata, Rina Banerjee's family has been unable to reach her since she travelled to Nepal with a tour operator. In Kasba, retired teacher Susmita Bhattacharya, part of a 30-member group heading towards Kailash-Mansarovar, also remains unreachable after contact was lost while the group was travelling towards Kerung. In Sonarpur, software engineer Lopamudra Kundu had spoken to her family before the disaster, saying she was near the China border. Since then, there has been no contact.
Similar distress has gripped families in Durgapur, Basirhat, Tarakeswar, Siliguri and Sankrail, with several tourists still untraceable.
For these families, the Nepal disaster is no longer a distant tragedy-it is a painful wait for a phone call that could bring relief.
The 32-member West Bengal group had booked their Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage through a Bengal-based travel agency, which has been unable to contact them and is assisting with rescue efforts. A senior citizen who was supposed to join the group narrowly escaped the tragedy after her visa was rejected.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.