Odisha Super Cyclone Heroes Help Reunite Mentally Challenged Youth With Family

Kolkata (September 12, 2025): A mentally challenged youth, who crossed over to Bangladesh inadvertently nearly two years ago, was reunited with his family in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Thursday, thanks to efforts by amateur radio operators or HAMs.

These are the same amateur radio operators who performed yeoman service during the 1999 Odisha Super Cyclone by restoring vital communication.

The youth was found at the Golabari railway station in Nachole in the Chapai Nawabganj district of Bangladesh in 2024 by one Md Abdul Ghani Fitu. Despite all efforts to communicate with him, locals were unable to find out where the youth had come from.

“Someone suspected that he may be an Indian who had crossed over the border accidentally. They got in touch with us. We asked for his photograph and also coached Ghani over the phone on how to speak to the youth, so he may respond. Armed with his photograph, we began a search along the districts in West Bengal that share borders with Bangladesh,” said Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary, West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC).

The WBRC is an organisation of HAMs who use their extensive network, not only during disaster relief operations and events like the Gangasagar Mela, but also to reunite lost people with their families. The enthusiasts have reunited hundreds of people with their families till now. These include people from neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh. They do this work with their own resources.

“Finally, we traced the youth’s home to Nawdapara in Daulatabad, Murshidabad. His name is Md Hasan Ali (38). We got in touch with his father Ashraf Ali and were told that Hasan was missing for the last two years. The family had made all efforts to trace him, but failed. We got all documents and sent them to Bangladesh. We also spoke to the authorities of both countries to arrange for his earliest repatriation. This finally happened on Thursday,” Nag Biswas said.

On Thursday, Ashraf broke down on seeing his son, who was escorted to the Indo-Bangladesh Border by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) troops. Hasan was then handed over to the Border Security Force formally.

“Hasan has been handed over to his family after all necessary formalities. This was another success story for us. We have been successful in turning a hobby into a tool to help lost people and their families,” the WBRC secretary added.