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Sunday, February 16, 2025

Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman urges Sushanta Chowdhury to take action on high flight fares

Date:

By TC News Desk

Agartala, 5th September 2024:  In a significant move addressing the concerns of flight travelers in Tripura, Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman on Thursday called upon Transport Minister Sushanta Chowdhury to engage with the Union Civil Aviation Minister to establish an upper ceiling limit for flight fares from Agartala to various destinations across India.

“In a 40-minute journey from Agartala to Kolkata, various airline companies are charging a flight fare of Rs 9,000 to 12,000, which is very high for the people of Tripura,” stated Roy Barman. “Considering the economic and geographical aspects of the state, a ceiling limit needs to be fixed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to control the flight fares. This matter needs to be brought to the attention of the MoCA.”

Responding to Roy Barman’s supplementary query, Minister Chowdhury remarked, “No airline service is controlled by the Government of India. The state government is also concerned about this matter. We have previously sent letters to the MoCA regarding flight fares. We will continue to look into the matter.”

In addition to the issue of flight fares, Congress MLA Birajit Sinha raised queries about the acquisition of land for the functioning of Kailashahar airport. Leader of Opposition (LoP) Jitendra Chaudhury also questioned the state government’s proposal to the Ministry of Civil Aviation to upgrade MBB Airport to an international airport and operationalize the Kailashahar and Kamalpur airports.

Minister Chowdhury provided updates, stating, “Land acquisition work for Kailashahar airport in Unakoti district hasn’t started yet. The state government has sent a proposal to the MoCA for upgrading and declaring the MBB airport as an international airport as per a letter on May 24, 2022. We have also proposed to the MoCA for operationalizing the Kailashahar airport. On October 21, 2020, we proposed the ministry to hand over the Kamalpur airport land free of cost or on a long-term lease at a token amount for alternate commercial and social use.”

In a supplementary statement, MLA Sinha emphasized the historical significance of the Kailashahar airport, saying, “The Kailashahar airport is important. People boarded flight services from Kailashahar during the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s regime. The file for modernization of Kailashahar airport was processed during the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. The erstwhile Left Front government’s Chief Minister Manik Sarkar also intended to operationalize the Kailashahar airport. The state government has to provide land for operationalizing.”

Minister Chowdhury responded, “The Kailashahar airport was operational until 1989. For unknown reasons, the functioning stopped. The Transport department authorities have visited the site from time to time and communicated with the DM of Unakoti district, Director of AAI, Agartala, etc. In the southern part of the airport, there are 111 families who need to be removed and rehabilitated to another location, costing Rs 50 crore. Moreover, Rs 350 crore is needed for the entire procedure. The ultimate decision has to be taken by the central government. Several surveys by the central team of CA were also done. It is reported from the MoCA that Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) survey can give proper outcomes for the operationalizing of Kailashahar airport. This airport is also enlisted under the RCS scheme.”

The discussions highlight the ongoing efforts and challenges in improving the aviation infrastructure and affordability for the people of Tripura.

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