Sourav Roy Chowdhury, a resident of Shaktigarh, ward number 31 under the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC,) had left home for Gangtok along with three of his colleagues on April 1 to provide technical support for a competitive examination organised by the IT Company he used to work for. On Wednesday the 28 year old returned to Siliguri in a coffin.
Sourav along with 38-year-old Pritam Maity from East Medinipur lost their lives in an avalanche that had struck at 14th Mile on the Jawaharlal Nehru Road connecting Gangtok with Nathula Pass on the Indo-China border in Sikkim on Tuesday noon. The avalanche left seven people dead and several others injured. Among the deceased, the two are from West Bengal.
On April 4, Sourav along with his friends had visited the 14th Mile area to enjoy the snowfall. Sourav was buried in the avalanche. Runu Roy Chowdhury, his aunt, said: “On Tuesday afternoon we got information about the avalanche through a phone call. An official of the Sikkim Government told us that Sourav had been rescued and shifted to the Sikkim hospital. At night, they informed us about his death. He was supposed to return on April 15.”