No ‘ceasefire' relief for those stuck in Iran
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Kolkata: At least 20 people from Bengal were evacuated from Iran by the Indian embassy in Tehran. With the embassy in Tehran closing the contact desk in Mashhad on Tuesday, following the ceasefire, those still stuck in the war-torn country are in a fix over how to get back home.
Barrackpore resident Dipak Adhikary and his wife Soma, who were stuck in a village near Shiraz in the Fars province in the south-central part of Iran, have managed to reach Mashhad. However, they could not get on to the flight heading to India. "I could not speak to them. They are already in Mashhad and staying at a hotel arranged by the embassy in Tehran. I spoke to an embassy official on Tuesday morning, and he said they will be put on the next flight leaving Iran.
However, I am not sure how it will operate since the contact desk is closed," said Naresh Senapati, a friend of Adhikary.
Nearly 100 migrant workers from Nadia's Tehatta were stuck in Israel when the Iran-Israel conflict escalated. Their family members, unable to contact them, were anxious about their safety. These people, mostly construction workers, travelled to Iran in search of better livelihood opportunities.
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With missile attacks intensifying and the region's safety deteriorating rapidly, their families back home are spending sleepless nights.
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"I have spoken to their family members. They are anxious as they are unable to contact them. However, a ceasefire has been announced, and the situation is likely to improve soon. In such a case, they might stay back in Israel," said Shampa Mandal, pradhan of the Betai panchayat. At least 30 workers from Lalbazar in the Betai area are currently in Israel.
Meanwhile, a group of evacuees, most of them students from Israeli universities, crossed the Israel border through Egypt. Sayantan Maiti, a Barrackpore resident and a post-doctoral research fellow at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, crossed Israel through the Egypt border on Tuesday. "Sirens went off when we were going out from Haifa. Our journey got a bit delayed due to that," Maiti told TOI over phone.
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