For tour operator Gauri Shankar, Saturday's quake would be etched in his memory forever. "Around 11.45 am, I was in the bathroom on the fourth floor of my hotel when I experienced tremors. I dashed out on hearing loud cries of 'bhago, bhago'. I took a bed sheet, wrapped myself in it and ran down to the ground floor. As I rushed out into the open, I saw a building next to our hotel falling like a pack of cards," Shankar, who took a 23-member group from Vasavi Nagar near Karkhana in Secunderabad to the Himalyan kingdom, told STOI over phone from Kathmandu.
On Friday evening, the 28-member group, including 23 tourists and five support staff, reached Kathmandu after visiting the famous Muktinath temple. Around 10.30 am on Saturday, all the others left for Pashupathi Plaza for sightseeing except Gauri Shankar, who stayed back for a bath.
He heaved a sigh of relief only when one of the 27 tourists, who set out from the city on April 15 via Sai Baba travel agency, called to tell him that they were safe near the Pashupathinath temple. All the tourists were waiting at the playground, fearing that going back to the hotel might be unsafe as aftershocks were hitting the area at regular intervals.
However, for their family members back home, it was a traumatic experience for over three hours as the quake disrupted communication. They wanted to know the whereabouts of their family members in Nepal, but they were not able to reach them. Family members of the 23 tourists made frantic calls to the travel agent's office, but there was no information.
After four hours, P Nageshwara Rao, a former accounts officer with the University of Hyderabad, who went to Nepal along with his wife, spoke to his family. "It was around 4.45 pm. I spoke to my father Nageshwara Rao. Until then, we were tense. My mother was shaken by the earthquake," Rekha, his daughter, told STOI.
Meanwhile, expressing deep sorrow over the loss of life and massive destruction caused by the earthquake, Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao directed officials to ensure the safe return of Hyderabad tourists. In this regard, he also wrote a letter to Indian ambassador to Nepal, Ranjit Rae, on Saturday afternoon. He directed chief secretary Rajiv Sharma to coordinate with Indian officials in Nepal on the issue.
Quote
Around 11.45 am, I was in the bathroom on the fourth floor of my hotel when I experienced tremors. I dashed out on hearing loud cries of 'bhago, bhago'. I took a bed sheet, wrapped myself in it and ran down to the ground floor. As I rushed out into the open, I saw a building next to our hotel falling like a pack of cards - Gauri Shankar, tour operator
Control rooms at Secretariat
The Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments have set up control rooms at the Secretariat to receive and give information on the Nepal earthquake. The Telangana government's control room is at Block 'D' of the Secretariat and can be reached at 040-2345 4088 and fax 2345 4293 or email id:commr_dm@telangana.gov.in, instaxx@telangana.gov.in or instaxxstation@gmail.com. The AP government has control room at the Secretariat (040- 23456005) and at the AP Bhavan in New Delhi (011-23782388)
Chief minister Chandrababu Naidu spoke to the district collectors of Krishna, Guntur, East Godavari, West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, and Srikakulam where the tremors were felt.
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