Gope: A pleasure trip turned into a nightmare for 25 tourists from Madurai in Chennai when the driver of the vehicle in which they were travelling abandoned them near Balisahi along Gope-Konark Road in Puri district.
The incident took place while they were returning to Bhubaneswar after a trip to Puri, Konark, Ramchandi, Chandrabhaga and some other tourist spots on Friday afternoon. The tourists found the driver drunk and driving dangerously. Some female members of the group reprimanded him and asked him to pull the van up by the roadside.
The driver stopped the vehicle and then fled the spot.
The tourists were at their wits’ end having been stranded at an unknown place when IIC of Gope police station Sudhir Kumar Sahu came to their rescue. He called the vehicle owner and asked him to immediately reach the spot. The vehicle belonged to a Bhubaneswar-based agency.
The tourists finally returned to the Odisha capital, but only after having to kick their heels for one hour.
