Siliguri (West Bengal) [India], August 27 : A 41-year-old hardware merchant from Siliguri's Santinagar area has gone missing in Nepal following devastating flash floods that struck the region.
Samar Mandal had commenced his journey toward Mount Kailash and Mansarovar on August 16. According to details shared by his family, he successfully reached areas near the ritual site in Nepal but reportedly fell ill during his return journey. He managed to take shelter at a location and informed his family members of his deteriorating health condition.
Shortly after that communication, his mobile phone became completely unreachable, and the family has not received any updates or contact from him since.
In an effort to trace him, Samar's brother, Ajay Mandal, travelled to Nepal to reach the area where Samar was last known to be present. Despite launching an independent search operation with the help of local residents, no trace of Samar has been found so far, leaving his family in deep anxiety as rescue and coordination efforts continue.
Samar's father, Gopal Mandal, has lodged a missing complaint at a local police station and appealed to the government to take immediate steps to locate and safely bring back his son.
Mandal's father shared his ordeal, stating that Mandal had spoken to him on Wednesday morning, after which his cell phone remained unreachable. He noted that his younger brother, Ajay, also went to look for him but hasn't been found yet.
"He went sightseeing to Manasarovar, after which water came and since then, nothing is known about them. Yesterday morning around 8:10 AM, I managed to speak with him in the morning itself. After that, around 8:30 or 9:00 AM, the phone switched off. Since then, the phone has been switched off; that's all. After taking a bath at Manasarovar, he returned, and then his health deteriorated a bit. The younger son also went to look for him, but he hasn't been found yet. We haven't received any news from him either," he said.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Dabgram-Fulbari, Sikha Chatterjee, met Samar's family members and assured them of all possible support in their efforts to locate him.
Chatterjee said, "The government will definitely help. The government will certainly find out what is happening and what is going on. Our Prime Minister is also very concerned, and our Chief Minister is also concerned. They will surely find out. We will definitely get news."
The disappearance comes amid devastating flash floods that hit Nepal, triggered by a massive surge in the Bhote Koshi River, causing loss of life, displacement and extensive damage to infrastructure, including homes, roads, bridges and hydropower facilities.