Family members of Shekhar Gurung, 42, a resident of Montiviet tea estate in Kurseong sub-division in Darjeeling Hills, are worried because Mr Gurung was stuck in Kabul in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has now taken over.
It is learnt that several people, mainly ex-servicemen from different places in Darjeeling hills, who were working at different places in Afghanistan, are currently stranded in the war-ravaged country. Family members of such persons are praying as well as requesting the government through the media to ensure their safe return.
Sanju Gurung, the wife of Shekhar Gurung, today talked to reporters in Kurseong and said that her husband had gone to Kabul to work as a security guard at the Korean Embassy only a month ago. “I managed to talk to him through WhatsApp call at around 2 pm yesterday, but I have not been able to contact him even after several attempts after that,” she said.
According to her, her husband told her that he and his friends were in a rented house near Kabul airport and that they had started facing a food shortage. The Darjeeling district administration has estimated that there are around 200 people from the district who are presently stranded in Afghanistan.
“There is information of around 200 stranded persons (of our district) in Afghanistan. We are verifying it locally and sharing the list with the Home and Hill Affairs Department. Our government is taking up the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs for their safe return. The final numbers may, however, vary after verification,” a top district official said today.