<p>Bengaluru: Labour Minister Santosh Lad, who anchored the safe return of 177 residents of Karnataka from terror-hit Jammu and Kashmir, had no idea about what was in store for him when Chief Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/siddaramaiah">Siddaramaiah</a> called him on Tuesday around 9.30 pm.</p><p>Lad, who was in Hubli at the time, tried his best to catch a flight from Hubli but struggled for a long time. </p><p>“Finally, we got a flight that came from Mumbai to Hubli. The biggest challenge was to get permission to land at Srinagar before 6 am. After repeated requests, we got the permit,” Lad told DH in an exclusive conversation.</p><p>The 50-year-old minister was leading a team of five from the state. The team included official Chethan and Lad’s friends Mayur, Sandeep and Ali.</p><p>Explaining that they immediately rushed to the mortuary, Lad depicted the horrific scenes there. </p><p>“It was distressing to see so many dead bodies early in the morning. People were crying and yelling. There was a body that they couldn’t even identify since the deceased had been shot in the face. I tried to be calm and took them to identify the bodies of their family members,” the labour minister said.</p>.Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah directs home ministry to be cautious regarding overstaying foreigners.<p><strong>Identifying Karnataka residents</strong></p><p>While sending back the three dead bodies was the first challenge, the next was to locate all Karnataka residents and arrange their safe return. </p><p>People from Karnataka were reportedly scattered across the union territory, with some in Jammu, some others in Katra and Srinagar. </p><p>“I visited over 40 places personally. Going was very scary as there are guns everywhere. I was constantly on the phone till 4 am. We finally got the flight at 8.30am and landed in Bengaluru around 12.30 pm. It was a 40-hour task and was mindblowing. I am dead tired and I couldn’t bathe, brush or even change my clothes,” an exhausted Lad explained.</p><p>Speaking to reporters after arriving at Bengaluru, Lad said: “It's a horrific experience for people who saw it up close. Especially, the women who saw their husbands getting shot and had the courage to say ‘shoot me’… I think only the women of this country can say this.”</p><p><strong>‘Most difficult thing’</strong></p><p>Explaining some blood-chilling experiences from his 2-day saga, Lad said the fear of life was palpable in the faces of the rescued. </p><p>“Children and old people were all scared. There was the fear of death and that was the most difficult thing anyone could go through. People were overcome by emotion and they couldn’t believe that a minister had come to be with them.”</p><p>Terming the terror incident an attack on the country, the labour minister said: “Everyone should unite and face the situation. We can then fight amongst ourselves. Now everyone should be in solidarity with the victims and their families. Our hearts should go out to them. What’s the point in politicising this??”</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Labour Minister Santosh Lad, who anchored the safe return of 177 residents of Karnataka from terror-hit Jammu and Kashmir, had no idea about what was in store for him when Chief Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/siddaramaiah">Siddaramaiah</a> called him on Tuesday around 9.30 pm.</p><p>Lad, who was in Hubli at the time, tried his best to catch a flight from Hubli but struggled for a long time. </p><p>“Finally, we got a flight that came from Mumbai to Hubli. The biggest challenge was to get permission to land at Srinagar before 6 am. After repeated requests, we got the permit,” Lad told DH in an exclusive conversation.</p><p>The 50-year-old minister was leading a team of five from the state. The team included official Chethan and Lad’s friends Mayur, Sandeep and Ali.</p><p>Explaining that they immediately rushed to the mortuary, Lad depicted the horrific scenes there. </p><p>“It was distressing to see so many dead bodies early in the morning. People were crying and yelling. There was a body that they couldn’t even identify since the deceased had been shot in the face. I tried to be calm and took them to identify the bodies of their family members,” the labour minister said.</p>.Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah directs home ministry to be cautious regarding overstaying foreigners.<p><strong>Identifying Karnataka residents</strong></p><p>While sending back the three dead bodies was the first challenge, the next was to locate all Karnataka residents and arrange their safe return. </p><p>People from Karnataka were reportedly scattered across the union territory, with some in Jammu, some others in Katra and Srinagar. </p><p>“I visited over 40 places personally. Going was very scary as there are guns everywhere. I was constantly on the phone till 4 am. We finally got the flight at 8.30am and landed in Bengaluru around 12.30 pm. It was a 40-hour task and was mindblowing. I am dead tired and I couldn’t bathe, brush or even change my clothes,” an exhausted Lad explained.</p><p>Speaking to reporters after arriving at Bengaluru, Lad said: “It's a horrific experience for people who saw it up close. Especially, the women who saw their husbands getting shot and had the courage to say ‘shoot me’… I think only the women of this country can say this.”</p><p><strong>‘Most difficult thing’</strong></p><p>Explaining some blood-chilling experiences from his 2-day saga, Lad said the fear of life was palpable in the faces of the rescued. </p><p>“Children and old people were all scared. There was the fear of death and that was the most difficult thing anyone could go through. People were overcome by emotion and they couldn’t believe that a minister had come to be with them.”</p><p>Terming the terror incident an attack on the country, the labour minister said: “Everyone should unite and face the situation. We can then fight amongst ourselves. Now everyone should be in solidarity with the victims and their families. Our hearts should go out to them. What’s the point in politicising this??”</p>