Mumbai: Anxious relatives of missing tourists from Mumbai and Maharashtra are travelling to Kathmandu, Nepal, hoping to trace family members missing in the flash floods of Aug 26. Other relatives are reaching out through social media hoping some govt authority or local agencies working on the ground in Nepal will network for their safe return.Samir Karkhanis, whose wife Alpa, a finance professional, is missing in Nepal, travelled to Kathmandu on Thursday, hoping to contact her. He told TOI: “My wife was part of a group of 61 tourists, none of whose families are able to reach their phones. Many of us have arrived here. We are aware that communication infrastructure has collapsed. But we do not know what to do. The helplines issued in both countries are not able to provide any info. about the missing tourists. The operators only say her name is there on the list.”Former child actor Parzaan Dastur of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ fame issued an appeal seeking the whereabouts of his family friend Chetana Gupta (64). The South Mumbai resident was part of mountaineer Dr Milind Chitley’s Hills and Trails and travelling through Richa Tours. The family is making all attempts to find her.“Her son and brother have reached Kathmandu on Thursday afternoon, but are unable to go ahead from there. They are making all the attempts and we are hoping against hope for her safety,” said a family member. He added that Chetana was travelling with a friend’s daughter (50). The family has welcomed any help to locate her.Senior gastroenterologist Dr Jay Kotecha from Malad also remains unreachable. His wife Dr Sneha said she and the family are distraught and seeking help from govt authorities in Mantralaya.One Rishabh posted online: “My business partner’s parents, Sanjeev Jain and Monica Jain, from Mumbai, India, are currently unaccounted for following the flash floods in Nepal. We have had no update on their whereabouts for the last 48 hours and his family is desperately trying to get any information regarding their safety. Please share this widely. Even one contact, lead or piece of information could help us locate them.”Among the missing is Sunil Subhedar, a resident of Palava township, Dombivli. His son Swanand said the family had not been able to contact him since Wednesday afternoon. Sunil retired from MSEDCL (Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company). “I am worried about his safety. The tourists were in touch with relatives in Mumbai until Wednesday morning. One told his relatives that the group was heading for immigration, following which contact was lost,” Swanand said. He visited the office of tour organiser Dr Milind Chitley in Andheri but found it closed. Chitley himself was on the tour.Kalyan residents Sanjay Rajmal Patil (60) and his wife Nalini as well as one Sanjay Patil (56) are also missing.Aparna and husband Samir Joshi from Thane city made their last contact with family at 7 am Wednesday from the Nepal-China border. “The working couple loved to travel but often took short trips due to work commitments. This was their longest two-week trip and they excitedly shared some photos on social media. Their ‘last seen’ update on WhatsApp was at 8.23 am on Wednesday and since then there is no contact,” said a family member.Rekha and Satish Patankar from Thane city were last in touch on Tuesday night while contact with another missing person Rajnish Natu was lost after the flash floods. (With Chittaranjan Tembhekar)
