Hyderabad:A troupe of Hyderabad-based musicians and singers narrowly escaped the terror attack at Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam on Tuesday, where they were headed to shoot a music video. Because some crew members refused to ride horses to the venue, they stopped 3 km from the meadows.The group — comprising C. Cynthia, K. Manisha, Ruth Karunamai, Neethi Raj and others — had flown into Srinagar that morning. They booked rooms at a hotel and headed to Pahalgam with a local crew, including a drone operator. The planned shoot site lay beyond a 3-km stretch accessible only by horse.Said Neethi Raj, a tour operator active in Kashmir since 1998: “Because some members refused to ride horses, we filmed closer to the township and only learned of the attack later.”Ruth Karunamai said she first saw reports of the massacre on her mobile’s internet feed. “I saw video clips of the shooting. We packed up at once and returned to the hotel, where CRPF personnel were checking guests,” she said. Karunamai added that the site had appeared normal on arrival, with no visible security presence and tourists moving freely.Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Manoj Sinha met the group at their hotel, assuring them of their safety. They remained indoors from Tuesday through Thursday before moving to Srinagar airport on Friday and flying out early Saturday.Meanwhile, 116 tourists from Telangana, including 71 from erstwhile Medak district, returned home from Pahalgam early on Saturday. Most of them had gone to Srinagar on a trip organised by a chit fund company. Eight of the tourists were from Andhra Pradesh.The panic-stricken tourists thanked former MLA Mynampally Hanumanth Rao for making travel arrangements and bringing them to the city. Rao received them at Shamshabad airport at about 3 am on Saturday.The tourists said they vacated their hotels and headed towards Pahalgam, when security forces stopped their vehicles and sent them back, stating that terrorists targeted tourists at Baisaran. As the local administration instructed the hotel managements to allow new inmates, the 116 tourists faced hardships in getting accommodation.They contacted Hanumanth Rao, who offered help. The former MLA told Deccan Chronicle that he spoke to Nalin Prabhat, a senior IPS officer of the AP and J&K Director-General of Police, for help. Prabhat asked his team to help the tourists get food and accommodation, they said.Hanumanth Rao then brought the matter to the notice of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari, who made travel arrangements to bring all tourists to Telangana.
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