Sheekha Bureau
Port Blair, Dec 09: The ghost of high airfare is back to haunt the people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Although a flight ticket from Chennai to Port Blair sector for tomorrow costs nearly Rs. 10,000 but in most of the dates in December the airfare is more than Rs. 25,000 (Chennai to Port Blair).
One can imagine about the kind of loot in Andaman sector by this simple search done by Andaman Sheekha today in which it was found that a flight ticket from Chennai to Port Blair (nearly 2 hours) on December 24, 2018 cost Rs. 29,376 (IndiGo) while on the same day a flight ticket from Chennai to Singapore (nearly 4 hours) costs only Rs. 26,203 (IndiGo and Airasia).
Can anyone in Administration justify their airfare? Is there anyone in Administration ready to take up the matter of such unjustified airfare in Andaman Sector with the Ministry of Civil Aviation?
December is the month when most of the Andaman Students, studying in Mainland India, return back to Port Blair for Christmas vacation and because of such high airfare, parents can’t even think of brining their children back to Port Blair and ask them to remain somewhere in Mainland India, which is unsafe for them.
Sadly politicians of Andaman and Nicobar Islands who are very fond of publishing their photographs with National political leaders have miserably failed in solving this crucial problem of these Islands.
Many demands that during peak season, the Administration must increase the frequency of Chartered Aircraft to bring down the soaring airfare.
Prominent Islanders are now demanding to fix a cap for airfare in Andaman Sector but the question is who will fight for the cause of Islanders, bureaucrats are busy in VVIP visit, politicians are busy with petty issues.
