State. The Chief Minister left for New Delhi to apprise the Prime Minister and the Civil Aviation Minister about the situation. Briefing media persons this evening, SPF Spokesperson and Sports Minister N Biren said that airlines operating through Imphal have increased air fares manifold taking advantage of the refusal of transporters to take NH 39 even after the blockade was lifted while NH-53 remains in a bad shape. Stating that airlines should be having certain reasonable and fair rates of fare, Biren conveyed that the Chief Minister wrote to the Prime Minister about the issue today.
The Chief Minister will call on the Prime Minister tomorrow. A passenger who normally paid between Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 for a 35 minutes flight to Guwahati from Imphal now has to pay Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000. Likewise, air fares for Imphal- Delhi and Imphal-Kolkata flights have also gone up manifold, mentioned the Chief Minister’s letter to the Prime Minister. Not so long back, 25 flights were operated in a week from Imphal by Air India, Indigo, Jetlite and Kingfisher Airlines. But this has been reduced to 18 flights per week since the Kingfisher Airlines withdrew all their seven flights from Imphal without giving any plausible reason since the last few weeks.
Pointing out that this is admission season when a number of students and guardians have to travel to different cities of India for admission in higher educational institutions outside the State, the Chief Minister, through his letter, informed the Prime Minister, that the people of Manipur have been facing severe inconveniences due to shortage of flights and exorbitant fares. Reminding that all airlines have obligation to operate at least 10 per cent of their commercial flights in North Eastern region, Ibobi sought intervention of Dr Manmohan Singh so that the number of flights is increased to at least 40 per week. The Ministry should be able to persuade airlines to give priority to Imphal and charge air fares at normal rates.
The Chief Minister’s letter further urged the Prime Minister to direct Air India, which is a public sector undertaking, to double its flights to and from Imphal at least for the next six months. The Chief Minister would take up the matter with the Civil Aviation Minister during their scheduled meeting tomorrow. Night landing at Tulihal Airport which has already undergone successful trial run would also figure in the meeting. During his stay at New Delhi, the Chief Minister would also meet the AICC high command in connection with election of a new MPCC president. Already, Chief Minister O Ibobi and incumbent MPCC president Gaikhangam were summoned to Delhi over the same matter.
The Sangai Express
