Over 200 People from West Bengal are Stuck in Afghanistan

India and several other countries have launched massive efforts to evacuate their citizens and embassy officials from Afghanistan. But many more are still waiting to be evacuated.

It is estimated that more than 200 people from West Bengal are stuck in Afghanistan now. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is writing a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs about the early evacuation of people from there.

Responding to a question from reporters on Wednesday, the CM said some people from Darjeeling, Kurseong and Terai were stranded in Afghanistan. Chief Secretary Harikrishna Dwivedi will write a letter to the Centre to bring them back soon.

Shubhankar Talukdar, a resident of Barasat, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal is one of them. His worried family members are constantly in touch with Subhankar through video calls and WhatsApp messages.

Shubhankar’s father Swapan Talukdar said that his son had spoken to him on Wednesday evening. He is safe but can’t be able to say the exact date of return to India as flight service is not available now.

There are 50 to 60 people who are staying together now in Afghanistan, most of them are Indians. Shubhankar works for an American company in Afghanistan. It’s been four months since Shubhankar went to Afghanistan. Shubhankar and other stranded Indians are not getting food supplies properly there. But the family is happy that at least they are staying together in a safe place. However, no one from the government has contacted the family so far. There is a possibility of getting a flight on August 24, Subhankar informed his family.

Sujoy Debnath, a young man from Ashoknagar is also stuck in Kabul. He went to Kabul in 2018 for work purposes. Sujoy works as a cook at the airport there.

Shankar Singh Roy of Gaighata from North 24 Parganas is also stuck at the Kabul airport premises. As time goes on, the anxiety of the family members is increasing. Shankar’s father said that there is no work here, so his son had to go there. Shankar left the country in 2016. He had also worked in another war-torn country like Iraq. But the current situation in Afghanistan is even worse.

The Ministry of External Affairs has said that the focus now would be to ensure the safe return of all Indian nationals from the Afghan capital because of the prevailing situation in the country.

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