Pankaj and Chhaya Mehta
Calcutta, Sept. 25: Pankaj and Chhaya Mehta fulfilled their dream of circling the world’s tallest peak today, but their family back home in Calcutta will never get to hear from them how majestic Everest looked from close.
The Mehtas were among the 19 persons killed in the Buddha Air crash this morning. Pankaj, a 58-year-old Unicef doctor based in Kathmandu, and his ophthalmologist wife were to shift to the Philippines next month.
“I spoke to him over the phone yesterday. He told me he and Chhaya would go for a Himalaya darshan today because they might not get another chance to do the trip before leaving for the Philippines,” Pankaj’s father Chandu Lal Mehta, 89, said at their Southern Avenue home.
Chandu Lal and other family members heard of the crash from a relative who saw the news on television. Calls to Kathmandu confirmed that Pankaj and Chhaya had been on the Buddha Air plane.
“Pankaj loved travelling to exotic places and his work offered him many such opportunities. Who would’ve thought it would end like this? We don’t know how to react,” said Ashok Sanghvi, a relative.
Pankaj, the youngest of Chandu Lal’s three sons, was based in Calcutta for around five years until his transfer to Kathmandu in 2008. Chhaya was then attached to a private hospital in the city.
“He was Unicef’s field officer for health in Bengal. His job would often take him to interior areas, including Purulia, where he helped implement the Bengal government’s pulse polio project,” said Kirti Mehta, a cousin.
The couple’s elder son Kayur, 25, is a medical student in Kathmandu. Their younger son Dhaval, 20, is studying environmental science engineering in the US.
Chandu Lal is scheduled to fly to Kathmandu tomorrow with a few relatives. “Dhaval is expected to reach in the next 24 hours,” a family member said.
Pankaj’s two elder brothers, Harsh Vardhan and Hemant, live in Southern Avenue and run the family’s iron and steel supply business. The Unicef official and his wife last visited their family home in July.
“They used to come home frequently and never missed a family event, be it a marriage or anything else. The last visit was to finalise their son Kayur’s marriage with a Bangalore-based girl,” Kirti said.
The wedding was to be held in November.
KOLKATA: Pankaj Mehta did not want to leave Kathmandu without the spectacular view of Mt Everest the Buddha Air special trip offered. It turned out to be his last flight.
Mehta and his wife Chhaya, from Kolkata's Southern Avenue, died in the Beechcraft crash in Nepal's Kot Danda that killed 19 persons on Sunday. Pankaj, who worked with Unicef, was posted in Kathmandu for the last five years. Earlier, he was with Unicef's Kolkata office. He was supposed to take charge of Unicef's Manila office in Philippines on October 3. But before leaving Kathmandu, he did not want lose an opportunity to see the highest mountain peak in the world up close.
The news of the youngest son of the family and his wife left the Mehtas in a state of shock. "He used to come back to his city every year. He was born and brought up here. We are particularly worried about his father, 90-year-old Chandulal Mehta," said Pankaj's cousin Ashvin Shah. Being the youngest, Pankaj and Chhaya were special to us," he added.
Pankaj was extremely excited about the 'Everest Experience' package offered by Buddha Air, said his family. The aircraft picks up tourists from Kathmandu, flies them around the peak and drops them back in Kathmandu. Sunday's ill-fated aircraft was flying back to Kathmandu when it crashed.
Pankaj's eldest son, a doctor based in Kathmandu, broke the news to his uncles Harshvardhan and Hemant around 9.30 am. The couple's younger son, an environmental engineer, is based in New York. The TOI team found the Mehta family making frantic calls to Kathmandu to know whether the victims' bodies could be retrieved though they were not yet sure if they would be brought to Kolkata for cremation.
"Air travel is quite popular in Nepal, which has very limited road network. Many places, particularly in the hilly areas, are accessible only on foot or by air. But we were a bit apprehensive because aviation accidents are relatively common, particularly during the monsoon, when visibility is usually at its worst. But we were assured by the Buddha Air website that describes the Beechcraft as the 'safest plane operating in the domestic sector'. But our worst fears came true," cried another relative.
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