Choudwar: A couple from the Choudwar locality of Cuttack district, who was sightseeing and was present in Sikkim’s Gangtok during the recent flash flood, has been stranded in the city. The families of the couple are in panic and requested the State and Central governments today for their safe return to Odisha.

The man was identified as Dibyanshu Subudhiray and his wife as Seema.

The couple had gone incommunicado as internet service and cellular connectivity had been snapped. However, family members had a sigh of relief after they got a phone call from Dibyanshu today.

“My son had earlier called his mother on October 3 for the last time. He was saying that they were staying in a hotel and it was raining heavily in Sikkim. However, their phones showed 'not reachable' since Wednesday morning,” Dibyanshu’s father Ranjan Subudhiray expressed.

“Both my son and daughter-in-law along with some of their friends had gone to Sikkim. Now, they are in a military camp as most of the hotels there are submerged in flood water. My son said that they are safe but are unable to return due to road and air connectivity issues. We are still in panic and appeal to the State and Central governments for their safe return back home,” the elderly man added.

Worth mentioning, the Odia jawan Saroj Kumar Das who was among the 23 missing army personnel in the flood in Sikkim was found dead. His body was identified today by his elder brother. Saroj belonged to Kendudhipa of Dighi panchayat under Kamakhyanagar police limits in Dhenkanal.