KOLKATA: A Kolkata youth, working in the UK and coming back home to perform last rites of his father, got stranded at the New Delhi airport after the new norms for institutional quarantine were put in place. Desperate to make it to his father’s Shraddh, Souravan Roy, a resident of Patuli in Kolkata, has approached the Delhi state government and the Union minister Debasree Chaudhuri, to help him reach home soon.
The youth who works for a multinational IT firm was in the UK when he was informed that his father, Subrata Kumar, was critical and admitted to a hospital. He passed away on January 2. “He was looking after my ailing mother. I was in Southampton and decided to take the earliest possible to Kolkata. I knew about the pandemic situation here but I had to take a chance. I underwent the RTPCR test in the UK and was found Covid-19 negative. I travelled within the 72-hour stipulated time set by the Indian authorities.” On Friday, Roy landed at the New Delhi airport, from where he was supposed to take another flight to Kolkata.
“Institutional quarantine for seven days meant that I would not be able to attend my father’s Shraddh. I am the only child and my mother’s condition is critical,” Roy said. Hoping against the hope Roy took it to social media and narrated the ordeal.
“I was at the Surat airport when I suddenly saw the message on my WhatsApp number. Immediately, I asked my personal secretary to see how this person can be brought out of the trouble. ” Chaudhuri said. By Sunday afternoon Roy received a few phone calls from the Delhi government and Airport Authority. “I was told that his papers are being cleared by this evening. Hopefully he will reach Kolkata soon,” Chaudhuri said.