This is authentic information from a Colleague - working in a Top IT MNC. I shudder to even go to Ooty.
Exposing The Bangalore - Ooty Travel Agents and Hotel Frauds - The Most Terrifying Experience of My Life
====================================================================================================
Myself and my friends wanted to enjoy the 31st night of year 2004 in some hills station and we all decided to go to Ooty. We are from Bangalore, so we just stepped into a travel agency in koramangala, bangalore called ’’SREE VENKATESHWARA TOURS & TRAVELS’’.
The guy over there called ’’L.Mohan’’ suggested us a Bangalore-Ooty package worth Rs 2, 700 per couple (i.e. 2 persons). We compared that rate with KSRTC and found it to be cheaper and choosed to book the private one.
That was our first big mistake and then when we went to that travel agent guy ’’L. Mohan’’ to confirm our booking. That bugger all of a sudden hiked the price to Rs 3000 /- per couple. Since, we were already running out of time and there were very limited seats available we booked for a particular deal (i.e. all of us will be accomodated in one single big room with extra beds). Since we just had to spent one night in the hotel, so we thought of adjusting. Ooh I forgot to mention, that bugger charged us very high just to provide us one single room in Ooty.
The travel agent (’’ ’’ L. Mohan) showed us a nicely shot picture of Hotel Saphire Garden View and the rooms that we will be getting. The rooms look pretty ok in the pics since, it was meant to fool everyone.
We boarded the Bus on 30/12/2004 at 10.00 PM from bangalore which was a medium class bus with no comfort. We reached Ooty on 31/Dec/2004 morning. We faced the doom when we just checked into the Hotel ’’Saphire Garden View’’. We met a hotel guy (I guess that ’s name is ’’Murugan’’) who don’t even know proper manners to deal with customers. Initially he tried to pack all of us in one single small room but then when we protested he gave us a bigger room. The rooms were looking like a low grade hotel rooms. It was no way similar to the one which we were shown in the pic. A best description of the hotel can be found here https://mouthshut.com/review/Sapphire_Garden_View-11268-1.html . It seems there are many such people who has got screwed up by this Hotel ’’Saphire Garden View’’. Gosh !! I still wonder where is the garden in that hotel.
We enjoyed the sceanary of Ooty on 31st Dec, 2004 and 01 Jan, 2005. We had to leave for Bangalore on 01/01/2005 night at 8.00 PM from Hotel ’’Saphire Garden View’’. We thought that we shall be provided with a good delux bus since, we paid for a entire package deal which includes the to and fro journey by a delux Bus. All we found is a small bus (a tempo). We were told by the travel agent guy who deals with the transport that the tempo will drop all of us till the main delux bus which is just 5 mins travel from the place. This travel agent is located inside the premise of the hotel and is the only travel agent who deals with the transport for the hotel residents. The bad time started when we boarded that small tempo which has hardly any space to sit. Somehow around 20 people were packed into that tempo and we all adjusted since we tought we were being taken to the main delux bus which is just 5 mins ahead from that place.
We realised that we were being taken for a ride when the tempo almost covered 10 KMs in the Ooty Mysoore road and there was no sign of any main bus. When the driver was asked by the passengers, he told that we all are being taken to Mysoore and from there we have to catch a bus to Bangalore.
That was ridiculus since, it was never told to us and we paid a very high amount for the entire Bangalore-Ooty package which include a to and fro journey by a delux bus. We all asked the driver to take us back to the hotel for which he was denying to go. After a big argument he took us back to the hotel premise. Apart from us there was a railway cop and a married couple. We all went to the travel agent guy (inside the premise of hotel sapphire garden view) and asked him to arrange a delux bus immediately or else we shall go to the police since it was a clear case of harrassment and fraud. Ther was a hot altercation between the travel agent guys and the victims. Then all of a sudden the travel agent and hotel guys who were almost around 20 closed the hotel main gate and started beating up all the passengers. One of my friend was badly beaten up with a wooden plank. Some of us managed to escape and some got trapped. After that we all went to the police station. As expected earlier, police didn’t did justice to such a serious issue. None of them were arrested as per my knowledge. It was looking as if we were the culprits standing there at the poice station.
We all knew nothing is going to happen and the real culprits will move freely and cheat many like us. We booked a private cab and came back to bangalore. We didn’t thought of going to police in bangalore since we knew nothing is going to happen to the real culprits rather we will just waste our time and money.
It was the most terrifying incident in my entire life. Next time it can be you, I am posting it here since I feel like us no one else should fall victim of such incidents.
Below given are the names and list of real culprits involved in this incident:
- L.Mohan (Travel Agent in Bangalore)
SREE Venkateshwara Tours & Travels
Koramangala (In front of New Shanti Sagar hotel)
Bangalore
- Hotel Saphire Garden View Guys (Murugan and others)
Opp Railway Station & Bus Stand
North Lake Road Ooty, The Nilgiris.
Ph : 0423-2443349, 2443350
Ooty.
- Travel Agent inside Hotel Saphire Garden’s premise
I am not sure how far GreenLine travels is involved in it since, the travel ticket from Bangalore to Ooty was provided us by Greenline travels, Majestic.
Incase you are planning to go Ooty, I would rather suggest never go for a package deal from any private travels. They look attractive and cheap but in real case the sceane behind the screen is something else. Do a google search for hotels in Ooty and get into the best of hotels in Ooty. For travel, I would suggest take a luxury bus from Bangalore to Mysore and from mysore book a cab till Ooty. It would hardly cast Rs 1000 - Rs 1200. Do a complete assessment on hotels in Ooty before checking into any hotel.
I will never suggest anyone to stay in Hotel ’’Saphire Garden View’’ and tell everyone about this incident whomever I know. Most of us are from very big IT companies. We have respect and power in the industry and society but still we got trapped, we don’t trust police anymore. Next time it could be you or your friends or relatives.
Only thing that you can do is forward this message to as many people as you know so that no one ever fall trap to such cheaters and criminals.