Durgapur: Debashis Banerjee and his wife, Sanghmitra Banerjee, residents of Bengal Ambuja in Durgapur’s City Centre area, West Burdwan district, have remained untraceable since travelling to Nepal on Aug 21 for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through a private tour operator.According to their family members, there has been no communication with the couple since the day of the Nepal disaster. Their phones have remained switched off, heightening the anxiety of their relatives and neighbors.Debashis, a former employee of Durgapur Ispat Hospital, and Sanghmitra, a retired schoolteacher, had left Durgapur for Nepal earlier this month.Nandita Mani, a neighbour, said a police team visited the couple’s residence on Wednesday night and knocked on their door.“Hearing the knocking, we came outside. The police team had arrived following news of the Nepal disaster to speak with the family members,” she said.According to the family, their last contact with Debashis was at around 7.03 am on Wednesday. Shortly after that conversation, his mobile phone went unreachable, and the family has been unable to contact the couple since.Another neighbour said, “Both of them were travelling to Mansarovar and left Durgapur on Aug 21. A Kolkata-based tour operator was accompanying them…”The police team spoke with the family members and neighbours, providing helpline numbers to help them track updates regarding the couple.Meanwhile, family, friends, and neighbours are anxiously awaiting news of Debashis and Sanghmitra, hoping for their safe return.Senior state minister, also the Asansol (South) MLA Agnimitra Paul said, “…We will speak with the minister for disaster nanagement. We will also discuss the matter of the five or six missing couples from Durgapur. We have heard that over 100 people from India are currently missing, though it is very difficult to give an exact figure right now. You cannot immediately determine how many tourists went within a few hours, so this needs to be investigated properly... you cannot suddenly state a fixed number like that.”
