Going up in a hot air balloon was not an easy decision for Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah when he inaugurated a three-day convention for adventure tourism in Kashmir. And when he came back safely in "one piece", he thanked the balloon operator.
Omar Abdullah said that his family doesn't have a good experience with hot air balloon rides, and on his safe landing, "his family and relatives will be breathing a sigh of relief".
Amid freezing cold, Omar Abdullah, who is also an adventure enthusiast, stepped into a wicker basket attached to a huge hot air balloon on the banks of Srinagar's Dal Lake. As it went up into the foggy sky, he said it reminded him of a horrific hot air balloon ride his father and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah went on and "how a sort of divine intervention saved him".
Several years ago, Farooq Abdullah was stuck on a tree in Jammu when his tethered balloon had broken free and narrowly escaped falling on a live electric line. The Chief Minister said that the balloon his father was riding was "either mysteriously let go of or it failed".
And since the border is not far away from Jammu, Omar Abdullah said that the balloon mishap with his father could have been worse if it had further drifted away and landed him in Pakistan. "I thank the pilot of the balloon for bringing me back down in one piece. I say this because my family doesn't have a good history with balloons," said Mr Abdullah.
"So the fact that I went up and came down without getting stuck in a tree is unique to my family. I am sure my family and my relatives will be breathing a sigh of relief," said Abdullah.
The chief minister said it's the first time he has gone for a hot air balloon ride, as he inaugurated the 17th Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) convention in Srinagar. The three-day ATOAI convention is aimed at reviving tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been badly hit after a terror attack in Pahalgam led to the deaths of 26 civilians.
