BENGALURU: Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad, upon returning from Kashmir’s Pahalgam with 177 tourists, compared going to Kashmir to going to a burial ground.
"Going to Kashmir now is like going to a burial ground,” he said, adding that the situation in Kashmir is very scary.
“Military and paramilitary forces were there everywhere. All the tourists were in extreme fear and shock. Most of them had gone with children, family members. The fear among the tourists cannot be expressed in words. Nobody, including me, knew what would happen in the next minute,” he said.
Adding that returning safely to Bengaluru was nothing but pure luck, he said that the people have witnessed horrific and horrible experiences.
“I was part of a few more rescue operations but this one was very scary and horrific. People should avoid travelling to the region for now as the fear factor is more. People should not be more adventurous now. They should be more precautious. Once everything falls in place and proper security arrangements are made, then tourists can think of going there," he added.
Speaking to media outside the Kempegowda International Airport, the minister further said that 90 to 95 per cent from the state have returned, and those who are still there must not have been able to communicate with the government.
He also added that everybody, including him, were in extreme fear.
"All the roads in Kashmir were cordoned off. We built confidence among the tourists from Karnataka. I visited more than 40 places and personally spoke to the tourists. No one from Karnataka is facing any trouble there.”
“Arrangements have been made for those tourists from Karnataka who are still in Kashmir, while some of them have done their own booking,” he added, saying that precautions and measures must be taken to avoid such incidents in any part of the country in the future.
“Innocent people are being targeted," he said.
When asked about his conversation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Lad said that he could only barely talk to him, telling him that he is representing Karnataka and three people have lost lives.
To another question on Pakistan, Lad said that he hopes that the Indian government will give a befitting reply to Pakistan.
Following the terror attack at Pahalgam, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah deputed Lad, along with a team of bureaucrats, on behalf of the state government to oversee the protection and safe return of people from Karnataka. He personally met tourists staying at over 40 locations, collected information about their flight bookings, and arranged a special flight for those who had not yet booked tickets. The tourists who returned with Lad expressed gratitude for arranging their return from Kashmir to Bengaluru.
This is not the first time that the minister is stepping in for the safety of people of Karnataka. During the cloudburst in Uttarakhand, the chief minister had entrusted Lad with the responsibility of bringing people from Karnataka safely. Even during the train tragedy in Odisha and the devastating floods in Wayanad, Lad travelled to those regions to assist and bring back people from Karnataka safely.
