‘Driver didn’t waste time’: Bengal couple escapes as bus turns back near Kerung just before Nepal floods hit

A bus driver’s split-second decision to turn back may have saved the lives of a retired West Bengal schoolteacher and his wife, who were on their way to Tibet when flash floods struck Nepal’s Kerung border.

Anukul Poddar and his wife Reba were about an hour from the immigration centre when the driver stopped on Wednesday around 9:30 am, warning that a flash flood had hit and refusing to go ahead. Minutes after they were diverted to Kathmandu, the stretch where their bus had stopped was washed away.

“All we could see was a cloud coming down the gorge below and a hissing sound. We didn’t have any idea of the devastation it had caused at the immigration centre in Kerung. The bus driver didn’t waste time and took another road. He straight drove us to Kathmandu, around two hours-drive from the spot,” Poddar said.

“Minutes later we saw school children, locals, vehicles all scurrying uphill. They were terrfied and screaming. They were crying as they ran,” Poddar added.

They later learnt that another couple from their hometown, travelling with a different group, had reached the immigration centre before the floods and have been missing since.

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The Poddars, both aged 66, from Bengal’s Basirhat were part of a pilgrim team called The Cholo Jai, which left Kolkata on August 21 for Kailash-Manasarovar. On Wednesday, they were supposed to enter Tibet. Another couple from Basirhat, Swapan Mondal and his wife Mou, also retired schoolteachers and known to the Poddars, are missing after the flood.

Swapan had last sent a good morning message to Anukul after reaching the immigration centre at 8:30 am.

“Every year we travel together with Cholo Jai travel agency. This time there was a delay in my passport renewal and we missed the agency’s deadline. Anukul and his wife went with the Cholo Jai team and we had to go with another agency. Both the teams from the two agencies, however, started on August 21 and we were on the same train,” Anukul said.

The Cholo Jai team that left Kathmandu with the Mondals on Tuesday and headed for Kerung was supposed to stay in a hotel for the night and reach the immigration office at 8:30 am. The team with which the Poddar family was travelling started from Kathmandu early on Wednesday and was supposed to reach the immigration office at around 10:30 am.

“Their team reached the immigration office on time and he last send me a good morning message around 8:30 am. It was a picture of him and his wife at the immigration office. Ever since they have been missing,” said Anukul.

Also Read: Nepal floods: Retired school teacher, ex-SAIL employee among those missing from WB

West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Thursday that at least 39 people from the state were reported missing. Later, family members and the state administration managed to contact the Poddar couple.

On Saturday, along with the other members of their team, the Poddar couple reached Raxaul in Bihar from Biratnagar in Nepal. They boarded the Mithila Express and are scheduled to reach Howrah early on Sunday.

Adhikari, after getting to know that the couple was returning home by train, had directed the police on Friday to arrange flight tickets for them. But as the couple had already reached Biratnagar, they decided to return by train. To board the flight, they would have had to return to Kathmandu.

“We don’t want them to stay alone for some days. They are still in a state of shock and trauma. May be, they will stay with me and sister. There is also no news of the Mondal family. We are all hoping for their safe return,” the couple’s son, Satyaki Poddar, who stays in New Town, said.