As the tourist season peaks in Kashmir valley, ticket to the valley has skyrocketed, causing anguish among the people associated with the tourism industry.
Delhi to Katmandu (Nepal) is nearly half of the price if you want to fly to Srinagar from India’s capital city. The same has caused anguish in the tourism sector of the valley.
On 22 March, 2023, the prices for tickets from New Delhi, India to Kathmandu Nepal on Goibibo.com start from 5,109 INR and on the same day, the tickets to Srinagar cost 11, 221 INR. In fact, the tickets to Abu Dhabi cost around the same amount.
The issue has existed for quite a long time. In 2019, Omar Abdullah taking a dig at the Government over the heightened prices said, “These are the fares people traveling out of Srinagar are being forced to pay. Yatris will get special flights & controlled fares but what will happen to patients, students & other people who have to travel.”
These are the fares people traveling out of Srinagar are being forced to pay. Yatris will get special flights & controlled fares but what will happen to patients, students & other people who have to travel. @HardeepSPuri please look in to this & do justice to ordinary flyers. pic.twitter.com/xY6wqoM36i
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 3, 2019
In 2017, Omar Abdullah targetting the Government over the heightened prices said, “Tickets between Srinagar & Delhi are being offered by “low cost airlines” at between ₹25,000 & ₹30,000 while the highway remains closed.
In March 2022, several news agencies reported that the air prices will fall by over 40 per cent after the Government of India’s announced an increase the number of flights, however, the prices have shown a constant rise.
Speaking to The Kashmiriyat, Shabir Ahmed, who is a spokesperson of one of the transporters association in Kashmir valley said that the heightened prices is likely to affect the tourist inflow to the valley. “Whenever we have the peak of tourist season in the valley, the ticket prices sky-rocket,” he said.
Not only are the tourism players aghast, the prices have triggered anger among Kashmiri students studying outside the valley. “It cost me 15,000 to travel to home. The same travel cost me around 6,000 in October, this is a hike of over 150 per cent,” said Waiz Ahmed from Kupwara, who studies at Jamia Millia Islamia.