Bengal Mountaineer trapped in conflict-hit Tehran, desperate for exit

Forty-year-old Falguni Dey has barely slept during the last six nights. Stuck inside a hotel room in central Tehran, the assistant professor at Women’s Christian College in south Kolkata and a mountaineer by passion, Dey is currently at his wit’s end in figuring out how to return home.

Relentless sounds of explosions from Israeli war, machines especially at night and sights of thick black smoke billowing from targets that have been hit in Teheran visible from his hotel window during the day, have only added to Dey’s anguish and anxiety.

With no respite currently in sight and money running out quickly, the now-desperate adventure sports enthusiast is mulling a dangerous bid to escape Iran via the land route and cross over to an adjacent country like Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan or even Pakistan.

“I had no intention of staying in Teheran for so long and I barely have money left with me to sustain at this hotel where I am stuck. I can’t fetch money from home since banks here are closed. I am the only Indian in my hotel and I have no evacuation promises from the Indian government so far.

“So, I have no choice but to take this decision of moving out by road and crossing over to a neighbouring country from where I can catch a flight back home. My local travel agent here has assured me of help in this,” an exasperated Dey told PTI from Tehran.

He had reached Tehran on June 5 with an aim to conquer Mount Damavand, Asia’s highest volcanic peak standing at an elevation of 5,610 metres in the northeastern fringes of the Iranian capital. This was Dey’s third attempt at a volcanic summit after having previously successfully scaled Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Elbrus, the two highest dormant volcanoes in the eastern hemisphere.

Dey’s hopes in Iran, however, remained unfulfilled after a nasty blizzard forced him to abandon the climb barely 400 meters below the summit.

“I returned to Tehran with a heavy heart. But the moment I set foot in the city, I realised something here was terribly wrong. The city was being bombed and I was caught in the middle of an all-out war. I was scheduled to take my return flight the next day, but then the Iranian airspace had been shut down and all flights in and out of Tehran were cancelled,” Dey said.

Asked whether he managed to contact the Indian embassy in Iran to inform the officials about his plight, the adventure tourist said he was in constant touch with the embassy, which hasn’t been able to provide evacuation hopes so far and have, instead, laid down a set of protocols to follow.

“I hear that there are some 10,000 Indians stuck in Iran, including nearly 4,000 students from Kashmir. But, I do not know any of them. Here I am all by myself and the embassy has asked me not to venture out far from my hotel. People here are going about their daily lives despite the bombings,” Dey said.

But, the anxiety of his relatives back home in Kolkata's Jadavpur where he lives seems to have pushed Dey to take a call to escape Iran by any means possible.

“The nearest international border is about a thousand kilometers away, and I understand that a lot of protocol and paperwork would be involved in crossing the land border. But, I have to take that chance since I am running out of means to stay put here, given there is no help from any quarters. I do not know which country I will be crossing over to, because that will depend on India’s diplomatic relations with these neighbouring nations,” he stated.

Dey also said it appears unlikely that the conflict would be resolved anytime soon.

“I can see from my hotel window the drones shooting, and hearing loud sounds of explosions from both far and near. We can’t sleep at night fearing that the next missile could land on this hotel. Any intervention from neutral powers to end the conflict also looks to be a distant dream. Hence, I must choose a feasible alternative to leave this country,” the professor insisted.

The uncertainty over reopening of the Iranian airspace anytime soon, which remains indefinitely closed, even for a temporary period by forcing a ceasefire, has left countries like India in a tight spot in evacuating stranded citizens, Dey said.

“The Indian embassy is doing its bit. It is updating the database of citizens, calling them up, issuing advisories and setting protocols. But that’s not enough. I appeal to our Union government and our EAM S Jaishankar to actively intervene to get us out. I also appeal to the West Bengal government to do the needful in rescuing us,” Dey added.

Meanwhile, all Indians in Tehran were on Tuesday advised to move out of the city to safe locations and be in touch with the embassy, as the conflict between Iran and Israel intensified.

"All Indian Nationals who are in Tehran and not in touch with the Embassy are requested to contact the Embassy of India in Tehran immediately and provide their Location and Contact numbers. Kindly contact: +989010144557; +989128109115; +989128109109," the Embassy of India in Tehran said in a post on X. PTI SMY RBT