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Family members of Indian nationals from West Bengal, who went missing in Nepal amid devastating floods, were distressed and sought administrative support to rescue their relatives.
Samar Mandal, a 41-year-old resident of Siliguri's Santinagar area, has gone missing in Nepal. His father Gopal Mandal told ANI on Thursday that he spoke to Samar at 8:10 am before his phone was switched off between 8:30 and 9 am. Gopal Mandal said, "They had proceeded to a certain point, and then the water came. They say nothing could be determined because of the water. That is all they told us. He (his son) had gone to visit Mansarovar. I spoke to him yesterday at 8:10 in the morning. After that, since 8:30 or 9:00, his phone has been switched off. That's all there is to it. We have filed a report at the police station, and our son has gone there with a vehicle. My younger son has gone to Nepal to search for him." A retired railway employee from Kharagpur has also gone missing in Nepal following catastrophic flash floods. Arnab Sinha, the missing man's son, said, "He left here on August 21. When we saw the news yesterday, we tried to contact the authorities. They stated that they have no information and that internet services and roads there are blocked, but they will inform us as soon as they receive any updates." West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said that around 32 West Bengal residents have been missing in Nepal, and the government is in direct touch with the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. Adhikari stated that two dedicated control rooms have been operating continuously to handle incoming distress calls from families. Manoharan, an advocate in Tamil Nadu, said that his sister-in-law and two other relatives were stranded in the neighbouring country. He expressed confidence in the Centre and the state government's efforts to rescue the Indian nationals in Nepal. "My sister-in-law, along with two more of her relatives, joined this group tour to Mount Kailash. Yesterday, by about noon, we received information with two photographs and voice messages stating that there was a catastrophe and that they were safe. 17 persons plus three crew members were in this bus. Two more buses were also plying towards Tibet. The other two buses went into the gorge. Our hope and expectation is that these people will be rescued and brought back to India to their native places. And we are confident that the governments are also working overtime to help out the pilgrims. The central government is doing a fine job. State government also is doing a fine job," Manoharan said. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday directed state Home Secretary Ashish Kumar to lead a team to Nepal and coordinate the rescue of Tamils stranded there following flash floods in the Bhote Koshi River in Nepal's Rasuwa district. Meanwhile, the death toll due to the devastating flash flood in Nepal's Rasuwa district rose to 469 on Friday, while 1,545 people were injured and rescued, Nepal Police said. (ANI)
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