Hyderabad: Smiles returned on the faces of 116 tourists from Telangana including 71 from erstwhile Medak district after they returned to their native places safely from Pahalgam early on Saturday. Most of the 116 tourists had gone to Srinagar following a trip organized by a chit fund company. The panic-stricken tourists thanked former MLA and senior Congress leader Mynampally Hanumanth Rao for making travel arrangements and bringing them to the city. Rao received them at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Shamshabad around 3 am today. The tourists from Telangana apart from eight from Andhra Pradesh incidentally met at Srinagar and visited tourist spots last week. They vacated their hotel rooms and headed towards Pahalgam when the security forces stopped their vehicles and sent them back stating that terrorists targeted tourists at Baisaran valley. As the local administration instructed the hotel managements to vacate the existing tourists in their premises to safe places and not to allow any new person until further orders, the 116 tourists faced several hardships in getting accommodation. In spite of pleading with hotel owners to provide them accommodation, none helped them. Left with no other option, they contacted Hanumanth Rao, who earlier served as an MLA from Medak. He immediately responded and collected all the details of tourists. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Hanumanth Rao said that he spoke to Nalin Prabhat, a senior IPS Officer of 1992 batch of Andhra Pradesh cadre and the present Director-General of Police, Jammu and Kashmir, and explained to him about the situation. Hanumanth Rao’s son Mynampally Rohit, who is an MLA from Medak constituency, also spoke to Nalin Prabhat. Nalin Prabhat immediately asked his team members to ensure proper accommodation and food to tourists from Telangana. Hanumanth Rao then brought the matter to the notice of the Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Chief Secretary A Shanthi Kumari, who made travel arrangements to bring all tourists to Telangana. “We faced problems getting flight tickets to tourists as it became a huge task to accommodate them in one flight. We however succeeded in arranging a flight to everyone and brought them to RGIA,” Hanumanth Rao. The tourists panicked till they reached New Delhi from Srinagar. After landing at RGIA from Delhi, they thanked Hanumanth Rao for his kind initiative and bringing them to the city safely and sending them to their residences in separate vehicles. The eight tourists from Andhra Pradesh went to their relatives’ houses in Hyderabad.
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