SRINAGAR: Governor Satya Pal Malik Sunday sought intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a solution to the exorbitant fares charged by airlines to Kashmir during winter.
“I want to put forth a demand on behalf of the Kashmiri people that during winter our students and people get stuck and airlines give a ticket for Rs 28,000 (from New Delhi to Srinagar). One can have a return travel to Dubai in Rs 28000,” Malik said at a function, which was presided over by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.
“What would be more injustice than this (high airfares)? How will tourism flourish here (Kashmir) and how will the state progress?” he asked.
“This is my single demand and I hope you (the Prime Minister) will take care of this on your return (to New Delhi),” the Governor urged the PM.
Each time the Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only motorable link road to Kashmir with the outside world, shuts due to landslides or bad weather, the airfares rise exorbitantly, making travel impossible for people.
Malik said his administration made efforts to address the problem of high airfares. People, he said, get stuck on bus stands and airports for days together and there have been instances when students needed to go outside for exams and people had to travel owing to urgent needs.
“Once we got a plane from defence to airlift people from Srinagar. But on other days, the airlines are not ready to less a single penny (as air fare),” the governor said.
Urging the Prime Minister to intervene, Malik said there was a need to make airlines understand and bring down the fares.