Arambag/Kolkata: A video by 65 Arambag residents, who are presently touring Nepal in a bus, has provided much needed relief for their families back in the Hooghly districts. Though aware about their safety, the failure of being able to connect with them and see them on a video call had kept their kin on edge. The fresh video, though, has eased away all tension.The video that was shared on Sunday showed the tourists – both men and women – reassuring that there was no impact of the natural disaster at the spot where they are presently touring.In the video, passengers said that there was no problem either in arranging food or even in moving from one spot to another. “We are keeping well here. We are all keeping healthy. We cannot return here again and again. If we were in any danger, we would have surely returned. But given the condition now, we want to complete our darshan and go ahead with our original plan,” said Sita Dutta of ward 3 in Arambag.“While we had initially known they were safe, the video message has completely eased all our worries. I could see all of them happy and determined to complete the tour,” said Soubhagya Dutta whose mother is in the group.Another tourist, Sunil Kumar Bera, said the problem lay with the broken bus. “The bus is not fit for roads. Hence its taking longer to cover from one point to another. It has nothing to do with the disaster,” he said.On Aug 24 afternoon, the group, comprising residents from different parts of the Arambag subdivision, had set out from Olaibibitola in Arambag on a 12-day trip to Nepal and Deoghar. According to their itinerary, they were supposed to visit Pokhara Valley, International Chitwan Park, and the Manakamana Temple in Nepal.However, when the disaster suddenly struck, all telecommunication services were completely disrupted. With all contact lost, deep anxiety and fear spread among their families in Arambag though the kin were certain that they were safe as they were at Chitwan Park at that time, 120 km away from the disaster zone.“A video speaks a thousand words. In the end, the video message sent by the tourists has confirmed that all of them are safe and well, bringing immense relief to thouse of us back here,’ said Arnab Das, another Arambag resident whose kin is travelling with this group.
