Indian academic in UK for 60 yrs missing in Nepal floods; Brit MP says country refused help

An Indian academic who has lived in Britain for more than 60 years has become the subject of a pointed debate in the UK parliament after disappearing in Nepal’s Aug 26 floods, with his constituency's MP in that country alleging that authorities declined to assist in his case because he did not hold a British passport.Dr Anirban Bhattacharyya, 66, of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in northeast England, remains on Nepal Police’s official missing-persons list more than two weeks after the disaster. A research associate at Newcastle University’s School of Computing, he held degrees from King’s College London and South Bank Polytechnic, and had completed his PhD at Newcastle University in 2013.Raising the case during Business Questions in the House of Commons, Ashington and Blyth MP Ian Lavery said, “Dr Anirban Bhattacharyya is a resident in my constituency. He has lived there for 60 years. He travelled to Kolkata only a couple of weeks ago, and it appears that he has been caught up in the horrendous flooding in Nepal.”Lavery said repeated attempts to contact Bhattacharyya had failed. “There have been numerous attempts to contact him, but they have been unsuccessful. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (London) has been less than helpful, basically pointing the family to the Indian consulate...,” he told Parliament.The British MP also questioned why Bhattacharyya’s six decades in Britain counted for little because he had retained Indian citizenship. “He has lived in this country for 60 years. He is missing. Can we have a debate about how the FCDO can be more helpful to people who have lived in this country all their lives and are affected by such national tragedies? Because he does not have a British passport, we cannot help him.”In a subsequent social-media post, Lavery said FCDO had told the family it could not assist because Bhattacharyya held an Indian passport and had instead referred them to Indian authorities. He said he wanted a wider debate on how Britain supports long-term residents without citizenship and hoped to secure a ministerial meeting to seek answers for the family.Responding in the Commons, leader of House Alan Campbell said, “We are working with authorities on the ground to support their efforts in this terrible situation, supporting survivors of all nationalities and trying to get information for families about missing loved ones.”He added, “We are also in contact with the Indian authorities about the relief effort. I am disappointed that that has not led to the outcome that my honourable friend seeks. I will see if the relevant minister will meet with him to discuss this case and wider issues about what govts can do in what are often terrible circumstances.”Bhattacharyya was travelling with Kolkata-based Chalo Jaai Travel Club on a Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage handled in Nepal by Samrat Tours and Travels and remains among 32 members of the contingent — 30 tourists and two tour employees — who are still missing near Timure-Rasuwagadhi. Nepal immigration records showed members of the group had cleared immigration shortly before the flood struck, leaving uncertainty over whether they had crossed into Tibet or remained near the border when the torrent arrived.Bhattacharyya’s family friend has turned to Nepal’s mountaineering community for help, posting an appeal with his photograph and details of his last known movements on a forum followed by trekkers, tour operators and mountain guides.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.