A couple from Potka Block of East Singhbhum district has gone traceless on the way to Kailash-Mansarovar from Gyirong land port on Nepal-Tibet (China) border after the devastating huge ice-rock avalanche washed away vast parts of Tibet and Nepal, including both the immigration offices in Nepal and China on August 26 morning, family members said on Tuesday.
62-year-old Manas Kumar Ghosh and his wife Dipali Sarkar had left for Kailash-Mansarovar from Kolkata on August 21 with a 32-member team of tourists, including the daughter-in-law of former Union minister Late Mukul Roy. The travel agency for the trip in India was Kolkata-based ‘Chalo Jai’ and ‘Samrat Tours and Travels’ in Nepal.
“Manas uncle and Dipali aunty were last seen in Gyirong and after the flash flood, there has been no trace of them so far. We have been visiting the Indian embassy in Nepal and hospitals for any clue or information but in vein so far,” Tamojit Ghosh, nephew of Manas Kumar Ghosh, told HT from Nepal over the phone on Tuesday.
Family claims Chine not sharing data
Tamojit along with Dr Adrija Ghosh, only daughter of Manas Kumar Ghosh, have been in Nepal ever since the tragedy shook the world, killing over a thousand people from Nepal and India.
“My elder brother and cousin Adrija Ghosh have been visiting hospitals and embassies but no news so far. My sister’s DNA sampling has also been done today in Nepal. The Indian Embassy has collected all the details and documents and assured us to inform as soon as they get any update. They had stayed in Nepal for three days and got delayed by a day as the Visa clearance for one of the team members came only on August 25. Had they been able to stick to the original schedule, they too could have returned safely by August 24 like the members of Isha Foundation,” Soumyajit Ghosh, younger nephew of Manas Kumar Ghosh, told HT.
{{/usCountry}}“My elder brother and cousin Adrija Ghosh have been visiting hospitals and embassies but no news so far. My sister’s DNA sampling has also been done today in Nepal. The Indian Embassy has collected all the details and documents and assured us to inform as soon as they get any update. They had stayed in Nepal for three days and got delayed by a day as the Visa clearance for one of the team members came only on August 25. Had they been able to stick to the original schedule, they too could have returned safely by August 24 like the members of Isha Foundation,” Soumyajit Ghosh, younger nephew of Manas Kumar Ghosh, told HT.
{{/usCountry}}“We have moved the MEA but the problem is that the Chinese authorities are not revealing or sharing any data. My uncle and aunt had cleared the immigration from the Nepal immigration office at Gyirong between 8.15 AM and 8.17 AM on August 26 morning. Then they had exited Nepal and entered China for immigration clearance from the Chinese immigration office - there’s just a bridge in between. The avalanche hit and washed away the Chinese immigration office around 9.15 AM. Since then, there has been no trace of them, in fact anyone of the 32-member team. Had China revealed the immigration data at their end, things could have cleared up,” lamented Soumyajit.
Soumyajit further said West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari had contacted his sister Dr Adrija Ghosh and assured all necessary assistance.
Dr Adrija Ghosh is doing her PG from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi in neurosurgery after doing her MBBS from Calcutta Medical College. Her colleagues and AIIMS contacted and have been coordinating with the Union ministry of external affairs (UMoEA) in Delhi.
It may be noted here that former Bijpur MLA Shubhranshu Roy, son of Mukul Roy, has gone on record saying he had last talked with his wife Sharmistha Roy around 7.45 AM on August 26, after which she could not be contacted again.