19 Maha tourists saved by ‘luck’ as Pahalgam witnessed terror mayhem

Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) At least 19 tourists from Maharashtra were saved from the Pahalgam terror mayhem as ‘luck’ was on their side on April 22, with the local Kashmiri hotel owners also coming to their rescue.

However, six more tourists from Maharahstar were not ‘lucky’ and lost their lives to terror madness.

Around 14 of these ‘lucky’ tourists belong to the Chalisgaon area of Jalgaon district in Maharashtra. They were in Pahalgam from April 19 to 21, and returned to Srinagar on Monday.

“Luck was on our side. Somehow, we did not prolong our stay till Tuesday,” said one of the tourists. This group comprised seven males and seven females.

Of these 14 tourists from Jalgaon, one of them is the BJP office bearer, Devayani Thakre, was in constant touch with the Jalgaon MP, Smita Wagh and the Chalisgaon legislator, Mangesh Chavan, after the terror attack.

“We reached Pahalgam on Saturday and enjoyed nature’s company. We left on Monday for Srinagar, and the terror attack took place on Tuesday. We were saved as we followed our schedule,” said BJP office bearer, Devayani Thakre.

Thakre said that they are currently housed in a hotel in Srinagar, adding that they have planned to proceed to Katra and, after taking the holy darshan of Vashno Devi, they are planning to leave for Mumbai in a flight from Delhi on April 27.

“However, the entire plan has collapsed after Tuesday’s attack, as we are stranded at the hotel in Srinagar. There is a fear among all tourists, and we are worried about our safe journey back home,” Thakre said.

Thakre added that she has urged the BJP MP Smita Wagh and Chalisgaon legislator Mangesh Chavan to organise a special plane for their journey.

Similarly, five tourists from Buldhana district in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region were also ‘lucky’ not to get trapped in the terror attack, and were saved by the hotel owner.

“Our hotel owner came rushing to our rooms after the news broke out, and stopped us from leaving the rooms. We were about to leave the hotel, but as the TV channels started flashing the news, the hotel owner came and urged us not to leave the hotel and remain safe inside,” said one of the tourists

The Jain Family from Buldhana, Including Nilesh Jain, Paras Arun Jain, Rishabh Arun Jain, Shweta Nilesh Jain, and Anushka Nilesh Jain.

The family was in Kashmir on vacation, and when the mayhem started, they were camping at the hotel in Pahalgam.

“When we were about to leave the hotel, the hotel owner cautioned us not to venture out after heavy firing,” said Nilesh Jain.

“We had left for Kashmir from Mumbai on April 18. After visiting the tourist sites in J&K, we reached the hotel in Pahalgam on the night of April 21. On Tuesday morning, we were about to leave for a walk in Pahalgam, but the hotel owner and his staff told us not to come out as there was firing underway. We were saved because of timely caution from the hotel owner,” said Nilesh Jain.

“We request the government to make arrangements for us to come out of here. We are reaching Srinagar by local vehicle,” added Nilesh Jain.

At least 26 tourists and local civilians were killed on Tuesday after gunmen opened fire on innocent civilians in Baisaran in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to eyewitness accounts, a group of heavily armed terrorists emerged from the nearby forests and opened indiscriminate fire on civilians, most of whom were tourists.

Baisran is a small meadow three to four km from the Pahalgam market, and tourists take horses to reach the place as there is no motorable road to it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday morning after cutting his Saudi Arabia trip short due to the terror attack.

He had a brief meeting with NSA Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri at the airport. PM Modi strongly condemned the terror attack on Tuesday, stating that the guilty will be brought to justice and reaffirming India’s “unshakable” resolve to fight terrorism.

(Sanjay Jog can be contacted at sanjay.j@ians.in)

–IANS

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