New Delhi, Aug 27 (IANS) Family members of those who have been missing following the massive flash floods in Nepal, scrambled for information on Thursday as they have been unable to contact their relatives since a day before.

A majority of those missing were on a pilgrimage to the sacred Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet.

Several members of a family in Madhya Pradesh, remain out of contact after the tragedy.

“During a brief phone call, they told me that while climbing up a hill to save their lives, they tried taking shelter at the house of a local which later got partially submerged in the flood. They said they were at the roof of the house and that there was no way they could save themselves… they asked me to take care of the kids, post which the call got disconnected,” Devki Adhikari told IANS, her voice choking.

There has been no contact after that. In all 29 people had gone there, all of them were known to us. So far, we have not received update on any of them,” she added.

A couple from Durgapur in West Bengal’s Asansol also went missing during the pilgrimage.

Speaking to IANS, neighbour Sujata Banerjee said: “We have been neighbours for the past 30 years. It has been one year that both the families settled in Durgapur. The family was very happy to visit (Kailash) Mansarovar.”

“We saw in the media that there has been so much devastation. Both husband and wife are still out of touch,” she added.

Siliguri resident Samar Mondal went missing in Nepal during a Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage. His wife said that the family last spoke to him on Wednesday morning.

“My brother-in-law is currently on his way to the hotel in Kathmandu where he (Samar) was staying,” she told reporters.

Sixty eight-year-old Anita Das from Bengal’s Howrah also went missing during her Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.

Family members said that the West Bengal government has assured them help.

Her brother-in-law said: “She went there on August 21. She last spoke to her son over phone on yesterday morning but we have not been able to connect her after the disaster…police came to our house today morning and said that she is missing.”

Kolkata residents Debabrata Roy Choudhary and Lekha Choudhary had departed on August 21 for Kailash Mansarovar. However, the elderly couple are now untraceable.

Neighbour Dipankar Nandi said: “We have no information right now…there is a lot of confusion.”

Lopamudra Kundu from West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas, was to reach the pilgrimage site through the area where the disaster struck.

Her husband, Shubhrijit Sinha Roy said: “We have been continuously trying to get information about her following the disaster…we had contacted the Indian Embassy who enquired about her last known location. We provided the same and were told that they will let us know if they get any information about her.”

Sixty three-year-old Ranjit Howlader, who was on a tour with a tourist group, had been missing since Wednesday.

His daughter told IANS that they have not received any update regarding his whereabouts and neither have been able to contact him since the tragedy on Wednesday.

“We called up some of the helpline numbers but all they are saying is that rescue operations are underway,” she said.

Family of a Ranchi resident, who was working in the Hydropower project at the Nepal-Tibet border for eight months, have not received any clue about his whereabouts for more than 24 hours.

His sister-in-law said: “He is not picking up calls…I have the address where my brother-in-law was staying in Nepal. I am ready to give all the details to the government; I appeal that the rescue team should just reach there…since the disaster has struck a large area.”

“Along with him, 200 Indians were working there,” she told IANS.

Vallinayagi, a resident of Tamil Nadu’s Trichy, had travelled to Nepal with her relatives for a holiday. The bus they were travelling in was caught in a sudden flash flood on Wednesday.

Vallinayagi’s relative, advocate Manoharan, said: “Three of my relatives are among the 20 people who survived yesterday’s catastrophe. These 20 people were part of a 57-member group who were on a tour, organised by an agency…They narrowly escaped while proceeding towards Mount Kailash. According to the information we received, the bus in which these 20 people were travelling, got stuck midway, while the buses which were preceding it and those behind, fell into a gorge.”

Murali, son of a missing pilgrim from Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur, said his mother had gone to Nepal, on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage two days ago.

“We have not received any information about her so far,” he also told IANS.

–IANS

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