Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Jan 20: Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) today sought regulation of air fares to Kashmir, saying the Chamber been continuously calling attention of the State and Central Government to the unfair rate of air fare applied by different airlines operating on Kashmir air routes.
In a statement issued here, the KCCI president, Mushtaq Ahmad Wani, said the airfares for Delhi-Srinagar have been exorbitantly ranging between Rs. 20,000 to over Rs. one lakh recently. “It is causing a great worry not only to the students and desperate patients who have to travel outside the valley, but also to the tourist trade stake holders.
“After it was hard hit through summer season the tourism trade was expecting a huge inflow of winter tourism, as the affiliated Tour/Travel Trade Bodies of the KCC&I have fanned out in the country putting their hard efforts to promote winter tourism. Besides the efforts are made by the department of State Tourism for the growth of tourist business in the State,” he said.
But, said Wani, unfortunately huge airfares have been playing the counter as the tourists intending to enjoy winter in Srinagar are not ready to bear the high airfare and are therefore prevented to do so. “The inclement weather and resultant bad road connectivity further aggravate the situation. And as a result the Tourism business in particular and the economy of the State in general gets hard hit.
“It is pertinent to mention here that the airfares on international route from Delhi are paradoxically far lower than those ruling the Delhi-Jammu-Srinagar air routes. In fact airfares for Delhi to other more distant domestic routes are much lower,” the Chamber president added.
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