KOCHI: A trip to Spiti, in Himachal Pradesh, has turned nightmarish for a group of 20 tourists from Kerala. The holidaymakers, including five from other states, are stranded in Kalpa, 216km from Spiti, with roads blocked or washed away in landslides following heavy rains in the state. The group, which reached Spiti on August 25, has sought help to reach Shimla, from where they would be able to continue their journey to Delhi and then home.
Jisan Sam Oommen, a member of the group and a social media influencer, said, “The main issue is the absence of hospitals nearby. Some of the members are at the risk of running out of everyday medicines. Kalpa is remote village with no medical facility. In the event of an emergency, we will have no one to rely on,” Jisan, who is from Kochi, told TNIE.
The group, comprising friends and acquaintances from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat, had visited Spiti and was on its way to Delhi to catch the flight back home when the landslides struck. “We had left our accommodation in Kalpa and travelled nearly 50km when we were told that a landslide had washed away the road ahead. We were notified by locals that it would be wise to stay in Kalpa. So we returned to our hotel and have been staying there since,” he added.
Jisan said that three members of the group are from Tamil Nadu and two from Rajkot, in Gujarat, besides the 20 from Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kasaragod, and Malappuram districts. “One member of our group has been dependent on ambulance support throughout the journey. With rains persisting and more landslides reported, we have no idea when the roads will be cleared.” He added that BJP leaders Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Shone George had called them and assured help.