Srinagar cut off, no air tickets left for Delhi, Mumbai flights over the weekend

Before tickets sold out, Saturday fare from Srinagar-mumbai was Rs 73,647, govt looks to Centre

EARLY FRIDAY, the cheapest air ticket from New York to Mumbai for Saturday came at a cost of Rs 38,379. At the same time, the cheapest ticket from Srinagar to Mumbai was going for Rs 73,647.

By Friday evening, those stuck in the snow-hit Valley and had paid nearly double the fare from New York to Mumbai, were the lucky ones. By then, all tickets to Mumbai were sold out for the weekend.

It was a similar story for those hoping to reach Delhi. The Friday morning fare for Saturday was Rs 17,300 but by evening, no tickets were available to the national capital for the weekend on any airline, including Air India, the national carrier.

And this, after the airport had opened Friday after three days of heavy snowfall. Those travelling by road needn’t even have bothered to check — the Srinagarjammu national highway remains blocked by snow.

No wonder then, that Shahid Choudhary, director, information, J&K government had this to tweet in the morning: “Delhinew York airfares are cheaper than Delhi-srinagar. Just helping to make an informed choice :)”

“This (the steep fares) is unfair. Kashmir suffers because of this, and this is not in our domain. We have been writing to the Centre about it, time and again,” J-K government spokesman and Education Minister Nayeem Akhtar told The Indian Express.

In the Valley, tour operators waiting for winter business are up in arms over the fares, calling it “loot” by airlines. And, patients and students seeking to move out or return urgently are crying

PTI BRO workers clear snow from the Mughal Road in Poonch, Thursday.