Kolkata: A retired bank employee from New Town and his wife, who saved up for two years and skipped their annual trip last year to fund their much-cherished Kailash Mansarovar trip, have been untraceable since Wednesday after flash floods hit the Nepal-Tibet border, leaving their family and neighbours anxiously awaiting news of the couple.Debabrata Roy Chowdhury (67) and his wife Lekha (62), residents of Swarlok Cooperative Housing Society in Action Area II near City Centre, left for the pilgrimage on Aug 21 by Mithila Express. They were also travelling with Chalo Jaai Travel club that had arranged the 15-day trip to Manasarovar and Kailash.According to their neighbours, the couple stayed in Kathmandu for two days because of delays in the visa and immigration process. They were scheduled to complete immigration formalities on Wednesday and proceed to Tibet. However, communication with them stopped that day.Their son Rajarshi Roy Chowdhury, a teacher who works in Delhi, said he last spoke to his parents three days ago. “I am on my way to Kolkata. I don’t know if my parents are safe. No one has any clue,” he said.Rajarshi’s father-in-law, Joyjit Sinha, a Behala resident, said the family had been in touch with the embassy but had not received any specific information from the organisation that arranged the trip. “The embassy is cooperating, but those who took them on the trip have still not been able to provide any specific information. Every moment is passing in anxiety,” he said.Neighbour Dipankar Nandi said Debabrata had retired from a nationalised bank and had been living in the complex since 2017. The two had worked together at the bank and remained close friends.“Both of us worked together at a nationalised bank. They had a tough time getting a visa and got it at the last moment. The visa and immigration process was delayed, which is why they stayed in Kathmandu for two days. Chinese govt gave them the visa only on Tuesday. They were supposed to be at the immigration office when the flood struck,” Nandi said.He added that the family was still hopeful that the couple was safe. “We are extremely anxious. We are keeping ourselves glued to the TV, watching for updates,” he said.According to neighbours, the couple was expected to cross immigration and enter Tibet on Wednesday, around the time news of the disaster emerged. Since then, repeated attempts to contact them have failed. The family is now waiting for confirmation about the couple’s whereabouts as rescue and relief efforts continue in the affected region.
