Ex-Union Minister Mukul Roy’s Daughter-in-Law Missing After Flash Floods in Nepal

Kolkata: Anxiety has gripped the family of late former Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy after his daughter-in-law, Sarmistha Bhowmik Roy, went missing in flood-ravaged Nepal. The 43-year-old resident of Ghatak Road in Kanchrapara, North 24-Parganas district, has not been reachable since the night of August 25 following devastating flash floods near the Nepal-China (Tibet) border.

Sarmistha, wife of former Bijpur MLA and Trinamool Congress leader Subhranshu Roy (son of the late Mukul Roy), had left for Nepal on August 21 as part of a tour organised by a travel agency. She was travelling in connection with a Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage route. According to sources, her family sources said she last spoke to her husband around 11:30 pm on Tuesday (August 25) and reported she was fine, with her location linked to the Kyirong area, a key border point for the pilgrimage. Since then, repeated attempts to contact her have failed.

Subhranshu Roy has already left for Nepal to join search efforts. Relatives described the family’s growing concern as more than 24 hours passed without any word amid disrupted communication networks, damaged roads, and widespread chaos in the affected region.

Sarmistha is among hundreds unaccounted for after sudden flash floods struck the Bhotekoshi River basin and surrounding areas in Nepal’s Rasuwa district on Wednesday. Reports indicate the disaster may have been linked to glacial activity, heavy rains, or related triggers near the border, destroying settlements, bridges, and infrastructure, including hydropower facilities.

Official figures circulating on Thursday put the death toll at around 360, with over 900 missing, including a significant number of Indian nationals (reports citing figures of around 288 Indians out of contact).

A separate 30-32 member group of tourists and tour managers from Kolkata, also travelling toward Mount Kailash and Mansarovar and last reported near Rasuwagadhi immigration points, is among those who lost contact. Families across West Bengal and other parts of India are urgently seeking updates through authorities and travel agencies.

Rescue and relief operations are underway in the challenging Himalayan terrain, with Indian authorities monitoring the situation of citizens.

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