Himadri Purkait, a tourist from South Kamarpole in South 24-Parganas and a former Jadavpur University student, has been traceless since Sunday's deluge from a farmstay near Sonada, some 24km from Darjeeling.
Himadri, 25, had checked into Bagar Farmstay on September 27 as a “volunteering tourist”. The farmstay allows some tourists wanting to learn the culture and customs of the place to stay in lieu of volunteer work.
On Sunday, there were 10 tourists, including Himadri, at the farmstay.
“The rest of the tourists were staying in cottages but Himadri wanted to stay in a tent,” said Abhishake Gurung, owner of Bagar Farmstay.
The farmstay is situated beside Balason river.
As water started to enter the farmstay in the small hours of Sunday, the management started rescuing the nine tourists from the cottages.
“Himadri called us to say we should immediately rescue the tourists in the cottages as there were some children in the group,” said Gurung.
Himadri's tent was at an elevation higher than that of the cottages, the owner said. Himadri's last call to him was around 2.20am on Sunday.
Hours into the deluge, the management found that portion of the farmstay land where Himadri had pitched his tent had been washed away.
Rajesh Chowhan, the deputy chairman of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), said his team had been carrying out searches since Sunday. “However, I have not seen personnel from the district administration here for the search operation,” Chowhan alleged.
Moumita Chakraborty, a close friend of Himadri based in Calcutta, said they were informed of Himadri being missing by Diamond Harbour police station on Sunday afternoon.
“We feel that a coordinated effort by an expert team to carry on the search operation has not been conducted there,” said Moumita over the phone from Calcutta.
Moumita described Himadri as a "solo traveller" who would frequent the Darjeeling hills.