‘Cost us ₹10 lakh to reach Port Sudan from Khartoum’, recounts engineer from WB
It has been a week since the 26-year-old software engineer returned home at North 24 Parganas in West Bengal from war-torn Sudan but the sounds of gun fire continues to reverberate
The sounds of gunfire and explosions still ring in Surajit Dey’s ears whenever he tries to sleep, even now.
It has been a week since the 26-year-old software engineer returned home at North 24 Parganas in West Bengal from war-torn Sudan.
“I went there last year too. This year I went to Khartoum on March 1. I was supposed to return on April 19. But the war started on April 15, and we all got stuck,” Dey told media persons sitting at his home in Ashok Nagar, a town close to Kolkata.
He along with dozens of other people, including several Indians, were lodged in a hotel at Khartoum when the war broke out.
Also Read: ‘Operation Kaveri’: IAF evacuates 1,400 Indians from Sudan. One aged 102 years
“There was no electricity, no drinking water and very little food left. This went on for ten days. We had to drink tap water after boiling it. We couldn’t sleep. Missiles were being fired and we could hear constant gunfire. One day a building, located within 100 metres from our hotel was bombed. The sound was deafening, and our hotel shook,” he said.
It was then that Dey along with a few other Indians decided to move to Port Sudan so that they could be evacuated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and brought back to the country.
“There was no electricity and no internet. We couldn’t even talk to our family members as we couldn’t charge our mobile phones,” he added.
The IAF alone has brought back around 1,400 Indian citizens from war-hit Sudan over the past few days, ever since India began ‘Operation Kaveri’ last week.
“The condition was deteriorating every day. We were in touch with the Indian authorities. They informed us that evacuation would be done from Port Sudan. We thought it was useless to hide in the hotel, as it could be hit by a missile anytime. At least we can take a chance to reach Port Sudan,” he said.
There were around 49 Indians in the group including Dey. They booked a bus from Khartoum to reach Port Sudan.
“We booked a bus to reach Port Sudan. It cost us almost ₹10 lakhs (after conversion to INR) to cover a distance of 900 km. It was a 12-14 hour journey. On the way, we had to pass through several check-posts manned by armed personnel. It was a terrifying experience,” he added.
From Port Sudan, the batch was taken to Jeddah from where they were flown to Delhi as a part of Operation Kaveri.
He said that the common people were never a target in the war but during his stay he got the news of at least 600 deaths. Most of the locals shifted to Egypt, he said.
“I never thought I would get back alive. Now there is no sounds of gunfire and missile strikes but I can still hear the sounds when I close my eyes. It was all hell there,” he said.
