Last minute change of plan in Pahalgam saved family

Vadodara: A family from the city, currently in Kashmir, narrowly escaped the terrorist attack near Pahalgam on Tuesday. The Kapadia family were to be at Baisaran Valley around the time the attack occurred. A last-minute change in their plans may have saved their lives.
The Kapadias, who live in the Vasna-Bhayli area, left for Kashmir on April 16 and were staying in a Pahalgam hotel, booked through a family reference. The family includes Kaushik Kapadia, who works for an insurance company, his wife Arpana, a homemaker, and their daughter Pushti.
They had planned a morning trip to Baisaran Valley on Tuesday but at the last minute decided to first explore Pahalgam and its marketplace. This delayed them and as they eventually began making their way towards the valley, they were stopped and told by security personnel that a terrorist attack was underway in the area.
"It is likely that if we hadn't been delayed, we would have been at the site when the shooting occurred," said Arpana. Kaushik Kapadia noted that the valley was about 12km from their hotel.
After the attack, the family travelled to Srinagar for their return flight on Thursday. Arpana said that most shops in Srinagar were closed in protest against the attack. "Apart from the closed shops, everything else seemed normal," she said. The family even managed a shikara ride on Dal Lake on Wednesday.