Kolkata: A flood of distressing visuals and reports from Nepal has begun spooking travellers from Bengal, with tourists cancelling or reworking holiday plans even as travel agents worry that the fallout from the devastating flash floods could extend into the upcoming festive and winter travel seasons.A Darjeeling couple — a retired banker and a former school headmistress — had planned a 15-day trip to Mansarovar via Kerung in Sept. The tour package worth Rs 4.4 lakh, included visas and permits for entering Tibet. They decided to cancel the trip after watching videos of Kerung being swept away in the flash floods.“We will not go there anytime soon,” the headmistress told TOI.The couple had planned to travel from Kathmandu to Mansarovar via Kerung and return to Kathmandu by helicopter. “Everything was planned. We had spoken to relatives in Nepal who knew travel agents. But we are traumatised,” she said.The couple, who frequently visit Nepal as several relatives live there, said they were now unlikely to travel beyond Kathmandu in the immediate future. The couple has now planned a short trip to Mustang in Oct.Silverware trader, Naresh Parnani of Camac Street, was scheduled to fly to Kathmandu next week for a six-day vacation with his elderly mother and children. The family has instead decided to travel to Dubai.“I know several parts of Nepal are still safe, but I don’t want to take a risk,” Parnani said.Travel buffs have been seeking updates on the safety of Kathmandu, Pokhara and other tourist destinations in the disaster-it countries from travel clubs online.They have also sought reassurance about destinations, including Boudhanath, Swayambhunath, Bhaktapur, Patan and Lumbini. Responding to one such query, a travel agent in Nepal said these destinations remained safe.Anil Punjabi of the Travel Agents Federation of India and Anjani Dhanuka of the Travel Agents Association of India said they were worried about the spree of cancellations.
