Protesters celebrate at the parliament building after it was set on fire during a protest against social media ban and corruption in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo)The unrest in Nepal has also affected several people from Gujarat who had recently flown to the Himalayan nation for vacation.Though the news of resumption of flights from the Kathmandu airport on Wednesday has offered some solace to them, the long queues for air tickets has added to their anxiety.One such tourist is Ahmedabad’s Priyanka Patel. Along with her businessman husband Kandarp, Priyanka had left for Nepal a few days ago along with a group of 16 people after booking a package from a local tour and travel agency in Ahmedabad.Priyanka was barely a couple of days into her trip when violence started spreading in Nepal. “We had been in outer areas of Kathmandu for the last couple of days. After witnessing violence in different parts of Nepal, we all abandoned our further journey and arrived at Kathmandu International Airport on Tuesday night, only to find it closed. Some of our group members then contacted the Indian Embassy and informed them about our situation. The embassy personnel took us to a private hotel in the city centre under strict protection,” said Priyanka, a housewife.The news of flight resumption gave some relief to Priyanka and her group. “We are presently at the airport, waiting to get a ticket to return to India safely. But we have to wait in a long queue,” she added.Dr Urmil Shah, a cardiologist from Ahmedabad, said, “We are in a group of around 21 people who had booked a tour to visit different locations in Nepal. We left Ahmedabad around 15 days ago. After learning about the unrest on social media, we immediately left the remote area that we were visiting to travel to Kathmandu. We contacted the Indian Embassy personnel and secured rooms in a private hotel in Kathmandu. We have started the process to book the flight tickets. We will book them either on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.”Dr Shah said though the condition had worsened in Nepal over the last few days, his group of 21 tourists was safe. “We have not encountered any violence against tourists but we have been prioritising our safety. The unrest was not expected. We have to cut short our tour and return to India,” he added.Story continues below this adThe unrest has also upset the plans of a number of tour operators who were hoping for good business with Nepal trips in the coming month.Surat Tour Operators Association’s president Minesh Naik said, “We don’t have any information about the number of people stranded in Nepal. We are trying to reach out to other association members and get details from them. We had a good number of bookings for the upcoming Diwali vacation period, but due to the present situation, we have started receiving calls about cancellation of Nepal tours.”He said, “As of now, we have cancelled 20 per cent of the bookings for Nepal. We are also confused and are in a wait-and-watch situation. At the same time, we are planning to work on other destinations for our customers.” Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Surat