Most visitors safe as cloudburst struck residential area, say tour operators.
Even as rescue operations are in full swing, relatives of many tourists are facing rough weather in getting information about loved ones stranded in the flash floods in Leh, which is a big draw for holidayers from May to September. Apart from tourists, panic has also spread among the kin of soldiers deputed in the mountain city.
Dadar resident Sameer Gandhi’s sister and seven family members were holidaying in Leh when the cloud burst occurred.
“We didn’t know their whereabouts and that their cell phones were unreachable. The ordeal ended when my sister called me in the afternoon to say they are safe,’’ said Gandhi.
A group of 12 Mumbai Port Trust employees are stranded in a hotel in Leh. “We got a call on Friday evening from them. Though they are safe, they will have to spend at least two more days in the hotel as there are no flights. The building next to their hotel collapsed in the cloudburst,” said the wife of one of the employees.
A group of seven youngsters from Andheri is also stranded in Leh, but safe. Brother-sister duo Rishi, 26, and Priya Shah, 21 (names changed on request) left for a Leh-Ladakh trip on August 5 with five friends. The group is now stranded in Leh. “We are in touch with Rishi. They are safe but the condition there is bad,” said their father, a resident of Andheri (W).
Shah said that timely help by the Army has given confidence to the people. The town, a major tourist attraction, is almost destroyed. The group went through an arranged tour of a Fort-based travel company.
Every year, at least 700 trekkers go to Leh from the city. According to a travel agent, the picture is murkier than it looks, and there is a possibility that at least 500 people have been killed.
Nitin Shah from Meeraj is eager to hear from his friend Dr Mohan Bhat and his family. “Seven members of Bhat family are on Leh tour and left from Meeraj last Sunday. I have been trying to call them since two days, but haven’t succeeded yet,” Shah said.
An official from the disaster management cell of state government said that they have been coordinating with tourist agencies. “We received 12 calls till 4pm on Saturday. The tour operators and big travel agencies, with whom we have been in touch, have claimed that all their tourists are safe,” he said.
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