Sri Vijaya Puram, Aug 25: The Andaman and Nicobar Territorial Congress Committee has announced a public protest on September 3 at 8 a.m. against the steep rise in airfares affecting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Addressing the issue, Mr. TSG. Bhasker, Chairman of the Campaign Committee of the Andaman and Nicobar Territorial Congress Committee, and ANTCC President Mr. Rangalal Halder said that the issue was not merely a political matter but a serious concern affecting the general public, patients, students, tourism workers, unemployed youth and other island residents.
Mr. Bhasker said that the sharp increase in airfares had placed the tourism industry under severe pressure. He said the industry supported not only hotels but also scuba diving operators, boat operators, taxi drivers, tour operators, tourist guides, laundry workers and many others whose livelihoods depended directly or indirectly on tourist arrivals.
According to him, several hotel rooms were reportedly lying vacant while boats and tourist vehicles remained idle due to a decline in tourist arrivals. He expressed concern that many young people had taken loans to purchase boats and vehicles for tourism-related businesses and were now facing difficulties in repaying their loans because of the fall in tourist movement.
Mr. Bhasker also criticised the high cost of electricity and other essential services in the Islands and alleged that the rising cost of travel was making the destination increasingly unaffordable. He said tourists were choosing destinations such as Vietnam, Bali and Thailand, where travel packages and airfares were comparatively cheaper.
He further alleged that airfares on routes connecting the Islands with mainland India had reached unaffordable levels despite strong passenger demand. Referring to recent travel experiences, he said one of his staff members had reportedly travelled from Chennai via Kolkata at a cost of around Rs. 18,000, while other passengers, including patients, students and ordinary residents, were facing fares ranging from Rs. 14,000 to Rs. 26,000 or even higher.
Mr. Rangalal Halder also expressed serious concern over the present airfare situation and said that an ordinary or economically weaker person could no longer easily afford travel to mainland India. He said patients requiring medical treatment outside the Islands were particularly affected by the high fares.
He said that tourism workers, boat owners, tourist vehicle operators, guides and other young people associated with the sector were facing financial difficulties because tourist arrivals had declined. He added that many of them had purchased boats and vehicles through bank loans and continued to face repayment obligations even when their businesses were not generating adequate income.
Mr. Halder said the Congress had repeatedly raised the issue and urged the administration to take effective steps to bring airfares closer to the earlier levels of around Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 4,000. However, he alleged that no effective action had been taken so far. Announcing the protest programme, the Congress leaders appealed to tourism associations, boat operators, taxi operators, laundry associations, tour operators, hotel owners, students, youth, unemployed persons and members of the general public to gather at the airport area on September 3 at 8 a.m.
Both leaders maintained that the proposed protest was an issue concerning the entire public and not the Congress alone. They said the demonstration would seek to convey the concerns of Islanders to the administration and the Central Government and urged people from all sections to participate in large numbers.
