India assures safety of Lankan pilgrims

Dharma Sri Abeyratne and Nadira Gunatilleke

There is no threat to Sri Lankan pilgrims who visit India and they can go ahead with their intended travel plans as scheduled since the Indian government has assured the safety of the Sri Lankan pilgrim groups visiting India, Deputy Foreign Minister Neomal Perera told the Daily News yesterday.

The Deputy Minister said so when he was asked about the consequences of the recent attack on 84 Sri Lankan pilgrims in Chennai by a set of people who were believed to be pro LTTE elements, on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan tour operators to India told the Daily News that there is no need to panic since relevant officials from Sri Lanka and India have taken adequate measures to strengthen the safety of all pilgrim groups.

A tour operator to India Sumith Palihawadana said that the Indian tourism sector has not been affected by this single incident. Normally, pilgrim groups are given the necessary protection and security by the Indian police and security forces.

Therefore, pilgrims need not bother about their security. As usual his institution is receiving clients for Indian visits.

Another tour operator, Sagara Samarasinghe told the Daily News that their activities are being carried out as planned. “At this moment two groups of our organization are in India. Our organization has been arranging pilgrimages to India for many years.

‘Even when we visited India during the humanitarian mission, we did not experience such incidents. However, we are happy since security has been ensured,” he added.

Speaking to the Daily News tour operator S.P.R. Weerasekara said that the industry has not been hampered by this single incident.

However, he pointed out that some tour operators are not capable enough to look after pilgrims who are accompanied by them.

Therefore, he requested the pilgrims to choose an experienced, well established and trustworthy tour operator when going on pilgrimage to India. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commission in Chennai, India had decided to house all Sri Lankan pilgrim groups in South India at the Mahabodhi Centre to ensure their safety following Wednesday’s attack.