Stranded in France, Indoreans narrate ordeal

Indore: Ashish Gupta, 27, an exchange programme student, stationed in Lille, France, is stranded after the declaration of Emergency after the string of terror attacks in Paris.
"Though I live 200 km from Paris, the attack has shaken the French nation and we can feel the ripples in Lille, the sense of outrage and fear," said Ashish. He said he planned to return to India this month, but doesn't know when he can get a flight home."I was unable to come to India for Diwali. I had my ticket booked for November 18, but now I am re-thinking my plan because of safety issues," he said.
Narrating his experience after Paris bombings, the Indore resident told TOI there was a crisis for two days. "People were scared. Now, normalcy has returned and people are trying to get back to work," he said.
No communication was shut, but due National Emergency imposed for 3 days, public transport like metro and buses are hit. It's difficult to commute in cities, though airports are open, said Gupta.
Another Indorean lad, Paritosh Pandey, 24, is doing his masters degree in international business from Grenoble, France. Speaking to TOI, he said, "I was sleeping when the phone rang suddenly and I saw missed calls from my family in India. I called back and they informed me about the attacks. They wanted to confirm whether I was safe." Grenoble is just 3 hours from Paris and every weekend Pandey visits Paris. "My friends and I normally go during weekend, but after the attack, we were terrified to come out of our houses," he said.
He said they even had to cancel their plan to visit Italy as borders were sealed. "Everything was shut for two day. I saw people setting up blood donation camps and large number of people trooped to help. Local people were also letting stranded tourists and others to come and stay. There's stringent security curbs at the borders," Pandey said.