Port Blair, Dec 12: The PCC President Kuldeep Rai Sharma, who is presently at Delhi, met the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mr KC Venugopal on 11th December 13 and submitted the problems of soaring airfare in Island-Mainland sector.
During the meeting Kuldeep stated that the exorbitant air fare from Port Blair to Kolkata, Port Blair to Chennai, Port Blair to Delhi has made the lives of the islanders miserable.
“Most of the islanders need to proceed to mainland only for their own or relatives medical treatments, checkups and other urgent works viz getting admission or attending their children who are studying at mainland, social causes etc and during such urgency when money matters much to them , they have to incur heavy expenditure on air fare while their counterparts, for undertaking air journeys of same distance within mainland have to pay very less air fare and hence requested the Minister to consider subsidized air fare in the pattern of the North east region of India,” he said.
Kuldeep has also requested to consider allotting of at least 40 seats in the daily Air India flights @ Rs 5000/- per passenger for the islanders proceeding to Port Blair to Kolkata, Port Blair to Chennai, and vice versa as a welfare measure for the people of these islands.
Advocating for the populace of the Telugu Community, Kuldeep has stated that most of the members of this community are from financially backward class whose home towns are at various places of Andhra Pradesh. For meeting their elderly parents, attending urgent social-meet, meeting their children studying at various Colleges/institutions and other urgent works which can’t be kept pending at Andhra Pradesh, they use to avail sea route to Kolkata or Chennai Ports which is not only time consuming hectic journey but also during those days they have to pay a good amount for their food etc.
In case they are provided with the facility of low fare air journeys from Port Blair to Vizag and vice versa, this will be a great and noble consideration to them. Hence Kuldeep has also suggested for the consideration of the Minister to divert the Air route of Delhi-Bhuvaneshwar-Port Blair and vice versa to Delhi-Vizag-Port Blair and Port Blair-Vizag-Delhi. According, to report, the Minister gave very patient hearing and assured to look into the matter.
