Kolkata: Sibaji Basu, a professional stuck in Kathmandu from Sunday, finally returned to his Baranagar residence on Friday. He took a morning flight to Delhi before taking a connecting flight to Kolkata.
"I have been to Nepal for work on a number of occasions. But this will, forever, be different," he said in his first reaction upon reaching India. "Reaching Tribhuvan International Airport this morning was quite an experience for me and my colleague, Atanu Ghosh, who hails from Behala. At 6:30 am, no app cabs agreed to drop us, and we finally had to take a local cab that charged 3,500 Nepal currency against the usual NPR 500.
On the way, there were three army checkpoints, where our tickets were thoroughly scrutinised. However, the army was cooperative, and their presence ensured everything was peaceful," said Basu.
Basu said that with the curfew being lifted, the airport entrance itself was a challenge, with huge queues and a massive rush of people trying to leave Nepal. "Inside, things were not any smoother. Coffee shops were not accepting INR or UPI, which made payments difficult.
But that is very understandable in such times. Seats weren't available due to the overwhelming crowd, so most of us were left standing," said Basu.
"The situation worsened with long queues at security check-in and complete chaos at the immigration desk, making the whole process quite exhausting. It took us more than an hour to fly even after boarding the plane But for me — and everyone around me — the feeling of returning home was the most comforting feeling," said Basu.
Another Bengali who is returning home after getting stuck in Nepal is Sanjay Pal. He said: "Staying there is stressful now. At many places, it's not possible to step outside. As soon as I heard that it was possible to cross the border, I decided to return home. Many others like me are gradually coming back."