Panaji: More than fifty persons, including families from Goa who were on a Jammu and Kashmir vacation, are currently stranded in Srinagar following the Pahalgam terror attack.
A senior government official, on the condition of anonymity, said that efforts are on to get them back into the state. He said all of them were transported back from places like Pahalgam to their hotels in Srinagar.
All are safe, he said, adding that there are more than 50 persons currently in the terror-struck state.
Incidentally, all the people from Goa who were visiting the state were having their food at Pahalgam market when the attack happened. One of the tour operators claimed that a few of them were scheduled to visit Baisaran Point after the meal, where the attack occurred.
The tour operators who had planned their trip to Jammu and Kashmir are currently working out plans to get all the Goans stranded in Srinagar back home.
A group of Goans was in Pahalgam market when the incident happened, while another was in Sonmarg. All were called back to the hotel in Srinagar, where they are currently safe, said Ahraz Mulla, co-founder of Goa Adventure Club (GAC), a tour company.
Mulla said that he had planned a trip for a group of 34 persons to Pahalgam and 12 to Jammu. Those who were in Jammu are stranded due to a landslide. They also cannot fly out from there as the flights are full, he said.
Mulla said that the group in Pahalgam had arrived there on April 17 and was supposed to return on April 24. Efforts are on to get them back immediately, he said.
Daxal Naik, owner of Travel Bug Tours and Travels, said that a group of 26 Goans flown to Jammu and Kashmir by his company is still stranded in the state.
All of them have gathered in hotels in Srinagar. We are trying to bring them back as soon as possible, he said.
Naik said that one of the groups was having lunch at Pahalgam market when the attack happened. They were scheduled to visit Baisaran Point after their meal, where the attack took place, he added.
This group had left Goa on April 21 and was supposed to return on April 26, he said.
Naik said that the unavailability of flights has forced the tour operators to keep tourists in the hotels, while attempts are on to get them back on the earliest available flight.
