Compensation for yatra nightmare

The consumer court has not only awarded Sharma compensation, but also directed the travel agent to repay part of the money she paid for the trip and to reimburse the additional expenditure incurred by Sharma with interest.

Sharma and her brother had booked seats with the travel agency, owned by Ravi Kohli. According to her the entire group of tourists were asked to disembark at Pahalgaon instead of at Chandanbari, the destination for which they had been charged. Arrangements advertised by the travel agency in newspapers for their lodging and food had not been made. The stranded tourists had to arrange alternative transport and shell out extra money to go the next point at Chandanbari and back.

Like others in the group, the complainant and her brother had left their luggage in the bus as they had already paid their fare for the return journey to Delhi. But back from Amarnath, they found that the bus had already left Pahalgon without them, but with the luggage.

Some of her co-passengers lodged a complaint with the police and a wireless message was flashed to trace the bus. But the bus could not be located. Back in Delhi, they contacted Kohli and their luggage was returned to them with a number of clothes, articles and cash missing. This is when Sharma went to the consumer court and filed a breach of service case against the travel agent.