They should thank their stars for surviving the flood fury in Uttarakhand. However, it appears that has not stopped a group of pilgrims from seeking a refund from tour operators for their trip having been aborted midway.
Two travel agencies in Madurai had arranged the tours to Uttarakhand for 67 pilgrims from the city. However, several pilgrims who returned to the city, claimed on Saturday that they felt their ordeal was aggravated as their tour operators refused to give even a partial refund.
Some pilgrims, who were on their way from New Delhi announced that were considering approaching a consumer court over the issue. The pilgrims said that the travel agencies had refused to consider a refund claiming that the tour was aborted due to a natural calamity and not a mistake on their part.
Krishna Moorthy, a retired government servant, who went for the pilgrimage, said, “The plan was to tour Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri. However, the natural calamity disrupted it. As we had only travelled to Kedarnath, we sought partial refund of our money, but the agency gave evasive replies before denying the same.”
Moorthy added, “We paid Rs 14,390 including food and transportation and an additional Rs 1,600 for accommodation per head.”
Another pilgrim declared that they would have no other option than approaching a consumer court.
Meanwhile, a representative of one travel agency said that they had not received any complaints from customers. He added that they would try to address the issues if they approached them. However, he reiterated that agency rules stated that no refunds could be made in case the tour was disrupted.