Malayalam film actress Apoorva Bose, who is among over 300 Keralites stranded in various places in flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir, is safe but her family is yet to get authentic information on her return home.
Apoorva's mother Sangeetha said from Kochi that an 11-member team of which her daughter was a part of, had been shifted from a hotel in Srinagar to an indoor stadium by last evening. But there was no official word on when she and others would be evacuated to Delhi.
"From what we could learn from the our contacts in Jammu and Kashmir is that around 100 visitors from various parts of the country have been shifted to the indoor stadium from the hotel in which they were staying in Srinagar. They are expected to be evacuated by this evening," Sangeetha, who works in a private hospital in Kochi, said.
Apoorva, who has essayed memorable roles in a handful of movies in recent times like 'Malarvadi Arts Club' and 'Pranayam', had gone to Kashmir for trekking organised by a tour operator. She called home on Onam day on Sunday but there had been no contact after that, her mother said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said 369 Malayalis are stranded by the floods but all of them are safe. Arrangements had been made to airlift them from Srinagar to Delhi and their onward passage to Kerala.
The first batch of 22 Keralites had reached Srinagar airport by this afternoon and are expected to brought to Delhi by this evening, Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash said.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala had been deputed to co-ordinate the efforts to bringing home all the Keralites,who had gone to Kashmir in different batches from various parts of the state.
Meanwhile, many of those from Kashmir who run business in tourist spots like Kovalam and Fort Kochi, said they were worried about the situation of their kin in home state. Some of them said that for the last few days they could not keep in touch with their relatives over phone.
