4 Bengali tourists rescued by Army personnel from Ladakh following govt intervention

Kolkata: Four Bengali tourists who were stranded in Ladakh have been rescued and brought to Kullu by Army personnel following the intervention of Bengal government.

Bidita Chatterjee, an IT employee from Kolkata went to Ladakh with her family members and friends a few days ago. They were stranded near Sarchu area of Ladakh due to unprecedented snowfall.

Around thousands of tourists, including some foreigners were also trapped in the incident. It was learnt that the victims went there for trekking.

Bidita's family members contacted state Panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee and sought help from the state government. Mukherjee later spoke to Army officials and the state government took initiatives to bring the trapped visitors back to the city.

It was learnt that they were stranded and stayed at a road side Dhaba for seven days.

Her family members said they never expected that the visitors would face such an inclement weather on Leh-Manali Highway where they had to spend seven days without proper food. They also spent their money. The family members of the victims alleged that the local administration did not take adequate steps to rescue the four Bengali tourists from the area they were trapped in.

The family members came to know that they were rescued by the Army personnel on Thursday and brought back to their camp. They were later airdropped to Kullu by the Army. Bidita also spoke to her family members on Thursday.

The family members of the said the state government had taken all possible steps to help them. When the family members urged Mukherjee, he assured all possible help on the part of the government to bring them back. According to government sources, the four tourists will soon be brought back to the town.