Mallamma Yalawar and her daughter Tejashwini YalawarWhat should have been a pleasant and enriching experience for a mother-daughter duo, turned out be nightmare. A trip to Milan, Italy turned sour when the duo they lost their passports, money and ATM cards. The worried women saw a ray of hope in Indian Consulate and hoped they would come to their rescue. But they were shocked when officials at the Consulate demanded 350 dollars to issue a temporary passport.Tejashwini Yalawar and Mallamma Yalawar had travelled to Milan to represent Asia in the World Trade Fair on May 23. However, while at the exhibition, their bag containing money, ATM cards along with passports were stolen.Following this, they approached the Indian Consulate in Milan to help them return to India. Officials asked the women to pay 350 dollars to issue temporary passport, said Shivanand Yalawar, father of Tejashwini."They had no money even to buy tea there, how could they ask for 350 dollars when they had no money on them?" he asked.The distressed women shared their plight with the participants at the exhibition who pooled in money to help them. The two paid the money at the Indian Consulate and received a temporary passport to return home.Shivanand booked tickets for his wife and daughter and they are set to return on Tuesday evening.He expressed disappointment over the response of officials at the Consulate. “What is the point of having Indian Consulate when they cannot help someone of their own kind? They could have recovered the money later once they reached India or an alternative arrangement could have been made,” he said.He also said that he would write to government officials regarding this issue. The Indian Consulate in Milan has not responded to our queries.