Jammu & Kashmir Floods: 500 from Karnataka still stranded, 150 return

Bengaluru: Five-months-pregnant Mrs Nandini, a resident of Basaveshwarnagar in the city, decided to visit Jammu and Kashmir as part of a family tour package. It was a long-cherished dream. But her dream turned into a nightmare when she and her family were caught in the devastating floods even before they started their visit. Mrs. Nandini returned to the city on Thursday night with 34 tourists, all from Basaveshwarnagar and Sudhamnagar in the city. She narrated her horrifying experience.

‘‘We all went to Jammu and Kashmir together on a flight and were supposed to visit the tourist spots together. I never thought that we would be caught in nature's fury. The floods came unexpectedly and there was no water or food. The locals were so insensitive,’’ she complained.

‘‘I spent four or five days with just a bottle of water. Our group was separated many times. Father, mother and child were separated in the flood. As thousands of people were rushing for safety, we lost confidence over locating each other. But fortunately we met army personnel, who helped us reach a safe place and return to New Delhi,” she said.

Mrs Usha Rani, a resident of Kamalanagar who also returned to the city, poured out a similar experience. ‘‘We spent three days with just one water bottle. Locals, whose property was destroyed totally in the flood fury, tried to rob us and take our food and water. If it wasn’t for the help given to us by the Indian army, we would have never returned to Karnataka,” she said.

Army personnel from Karnataka:
According to one Sadashiv Charan, who was stuck at Srinagar for more than a week, hundreds of army personnel from the state were fully involved with relief work. ‘‘When we spoke in Kannada, a soldier from Bagalkot heard us and came and assured us of all possible aid. He helped us to reach the airport. It was an awesome gesture,” he said. Around 120 tourists who returned to the city from Jammu and Kashmir had similar experiences.