Jolting MoCA awake with flight fare Indifferent to Manipur
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The irony is not lost on Manipur. For over two years, different airlines operating on the Imphal to Delhi, Imphal to Kolkata, Imphal to Silchar, Imphal to Guwahati sectors have been bleeding the people dry with exorbitant air fares and the one line answer that came from the Ministry of Civil Aviation was ‘dynamic pricing followed by airlines,’ ‘data driven’ and some technical terms that would have only added to the sense of confusion in the people. It was with a reason that The Sangai Express entrusted at least three reporters to the air travel beat in the earlier days of November and to draw up a comparative chart of the air pricing of Imphal to Guwahati with other places in North East such as Agartala, Aizawl, Dimapur, Itanagar. A comparative study conducted by this newspaper on November 3 this year showed that flight passengers going to Guwahati from Imphal had to pay 700 percent more than people in other North East States. Other than some attempts being made to rationalise the flight fares by way of introducing more flights on the Imphal-Guwahati sector, nothing of substance was heard from the Ministry of Civil Aviation. However the moment, IndiGo cancelled hundreds of flights all over the country some days back, the Ministry of Civil Aviation immediately stepped in and put a cap on the price of tickets, so that the people who are already reeling under the sudden cancellation of flights are not burdened more. The step of the Civil Aviation Ministry is noted and appreciated, but yet at the same time, one cannot help but question why it has been sleeping over the matter concerning Manipur for over two years ? If this is not indifference then what is ? To come back to the comparative table The Sangai Express had drawn up on November 3, while a flight from Imphal to Guwahati was pegged at Rs 13,328 on November 6, it was Rs 1903 from Agartala to Guwahati on the same date while in the case of Aizawl to Guwahati it was Rs 2,493. This is but just one example cited here and Manipur has been reeling under this situation for over 2 years now and not once did the Ministry of Civil Aviation say anything to rationalise the fare structure. It was amid this reality that the same Ministry had asked different airlines to rationalise the airfare ahead of the Diwali festival this year. It is this utter indifference, bordering on contempt that has Manipur seething with rage and anger. In a way Manipur ought to give credit to IndiGo for prompting the Ministry of Civil Aviation to jump in and do away with terms like ‘dynamic pricing’ and put a cap on flight fare at Rs 7500 for places located within 500 Kms and Rs 18,000 on routes exceeding 1500 kilometres. Those with lung power and hosting shows on the television should also not forget that Manipur has been reeling under excessive air fare for over two years now.
IndiGo will most certainly work out a way to deal with the present crisis and the airfare will normalise in a couple of days, but will the Ministry of Civil Aviation continue to hide under the cloak of ‘data driven dynamics’ in the case of Manipur? Will this line continue to hold water in the face of the fact that it did manage to step in and put a cap on airfares now ? Manipur knows the answer for it lies on the periphery of the understanding of India, an India which has always refused to acknowledge that there are people of the country living to the east of the Brahmaputra. It was only when exorbitant airfare on the Imphal sector began to be highlighted that the State Government under the PR regime tried to reach out to the concerned players and see what can be done. It was along this line that Air India Express announced that a cap of Rs 6 thousand would be enforced on the airfare from Imphal to Guwahati. No such measures were announced by IndiGo and the people continued to be bled dry. It may sound blasphemous, but in a way the massive grounding of IndiGo flights did wake up the Ministry of Aviation to the exorbitant airfare and this has also brought to the limelight the indifference and silence to the suffering of Manipur for over two years. The opportunity to compare cannot be allowed to go waste.
IndiGo will most certainly work out a way to deal with the present crisis and the airfare will normalise in a couple of days, but will the Ministry of Civil Aviation continue to hide under the cloak of ‘data driven dynamics’ in the case of Manipur? Will this line continue to hold water in the face of the fact that it did manage to step in and put a cap on airfares now ? Manipur knows the answer for it lies on the periphery of the understanding of India, an India which has always refused to acknowledge that there are people of the country living to the east of the Brahmaputra. It was only when exorbitant airfare on the Imphal sector began to be highlighted that the State Government under the PR regime tried to reach out to the concerned players and see what can be done. It was along this line that Air India Express announced that a cap of Rs 6 thousand would be enforced on the airfare from Imphal to Guwahati. No such measures were announced by IndiGo and the people continued to be bled dry. It may sound blasphemous, but in a way the massive grounding of IndiGo flights did wake up the Ministry of Aviation to the exorbitant airfare and this has also brought to the limelight the indifference and silence to the suffering of Manipur for over two years. The opportunity to compare cannot be allowed to go waste.