‘Bengal govt providing all help to those returning from Israel’

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that her government is providing help to people from the state who are returning home from war-torn Israel.

Banerjee also announced the opening of a help desk at ‘Banga Bhawan’ in New Delhi to accommodate the natives of Bengal who are returning from the trouble-hit Israel.

Mamata has urged the chief secretary of Bengal and Delhi Resident Commissioner to extend all possible assistance to those returning from Israel. A control room has been opened at Nabanna. Help desks have been set up at Delhi and Kolkata airports.

In her post on X, Banerjee said: “Free transit accommodation at Banga Bhawan at Delhi and free local transport will be arranged by us. 24×7 control rooms have been opened at Delhi and Kolkata, help desks have been set up at Delhi and Kolkata airports.”

She has said that accommodation will be provided to the Israel returnees at Banga Bhawan at free of cost. “Indians/Bengalis are leaving battle-torn Israel and I have asked my Chief Secretary and Delhi Resident Commissioner to extend all possible government assistance, free of cost, to our distressed returnees. 53 Bengal-origin returnees have already reached Delhi today morning and the State Govt. is arranging their railway tickets back to Bengal at our cost,” Banerjee posted on X (formerly twitter).

She further mentioned: “We are at your service and call our control rooms for all help at the following numbers: Control Room at Office of Resident Commissioner in Banga Bhawan, Delhi - 011-2371-0362 / 011-2372-1991, Control Room at Nabanna - 033- 2214-3526.”

Incidentally, the first batch of over 200 Indians returned from Israel on Friday. Suparno Ghosh, a native from Bengal and a first-year PhD student of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev at Beersheba in Israel, was also among the group of Indians who reached Delhi on the special flight.

“On Saturday, some rockets were launched. We were safe in shelters.The good thing is that the Israeli government has made shelters everywhere, so we were safe,” Ghosh said.