Ten from B'lore stranded in flood-hit Srinagar

A trip to Kashmir has turned into a nightmare for three families from Bangalore as they have been stranded in the second floor of a hotel in Srinagar that was flooded due to heavy rains in the valley. 

Ten people from three families, all relatives and residents of Padmanabhanagar and Hoskerehalli in south Bangalore, have been stuck inside the Gulshan Palace, a hotel located at Jawaharnagar in the Jammu and Kashmir capital. They are said to be safe and will be rescued after water levels recede on Monday, according to their relatives in Bangalore.

Those stuck in the hotel are: H S Krishnamurthy (64), his wife, Vatsala (62), son Sri Harsha (33) an employee in Accenture, daughter-in-law Poornima (27) and grandson one-and-a half-year-old son Shashank; Poornima's father Manjunath (62), a former BWSSB employee, his wife, Seethalakshmi (58) and their son Kiran (24), an MBA student of PES College, Krishnamurthy's relative Gangadhar (70) an ex-servicemen and his wife, Bharathi (60).

Krishnamurthy's brother Srujay told Deccan Herald: “It was around 12:30 pm on Sunday, my brother called me and told me that they were on the second floor of the building and water had just started to enter their floor.

 I was hardly able to hear him due to a network problem and also his phone was not fully charged as there was no power. Landlines were not working. I have not been able to reach them after that,” he added.

Srujay said Krishnamurthy had made calls to Bangalore South MP and Union Minister Ananth Kumar’s office and Basavangudi MLA L A Ravi Subramanya to explain their plight before his phone got switched off.

Rupa, sister of Poornima, had contacted a deputy superintendent of police in Kashmir who informed her that the structure of the hotel building was strong enough to withstand the floods. 

The deputy superintendent of police told Rupa that they would resume rescue operation on Monday morning after te water level recedes.

The three families had booked their trip to Kashmir three months ago. When they left Bangalore, they were told that there was nothing to worry as the weather was fine. “My brother had just landed there and had not explored any location in Srinagar, they were to return on Tuesday,” Srujay added.

Ananth Kumar’s office said that they had passed on the list of trapped Bangaloreans to the Home Ministry and the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir to with a request to rescue them.