Beas tragedy: Thalot valley was familiar to VNR Vignana Jyothi College students

Hyderabad: This was not the first trip by VNR Vignana Jyothi College students to the Thalot valley. For around five years all batches have been visiting the place. All batches, except the current batch which met with the tragedy, had done rafting in the Beas earlier. The mishap victims and survivors too had planned rafting. However, the plan was cancelled due to lack of time.

Usually, students take advice from their senior batches on choosing excursion spots, students said. “Many previous batches have gone to HP as it is a tourist spot,” said Kavya, a student representative. “Student tour coordinators will take a call on excursion spots after talking to seniors. We always chose places where our seniors went to,” said a third year student.

Last year, one batch visited Thalot valley. “We did rafting in the Beas. But, we had taken all precautions and had guides to ensure our safety,” said G. Sai Charan, a third year student. He added that teachers are extremely cautious on trip matters. “When we went to Rohtang Pass last year, the weather was dangerous and our teachers restricted us to a safe area,” he added.

However, the students feel that tragedy is a wake up call. “We would be careful in future. My parents have asked me not to go to any hazardous place,” said a first year student, who would be going for a tour next year from the same college as part of their curriculum.

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