As people rush to leave violence-hit Manipur, one-way air ticket now costs Rs 20,000

As the situation in Manipur remains tense, there is a mad rush to leave the capital city due to which the price of air tickets has gone up by five to eight times.

A one-side ticket for Imphal to Kolkata, which used to cost just Rs 2500, has now touched Rs 20,000. "As the situation in Manipur remains tense and people are rushing to leave Imphal to go to Kolkata and as well as their hometown. In this tense situation, they are facing a big problem of Air ticket which is almost high with nominal fare," ANI quoted Debjit Dutta, chairman, Indian Association of Tour Operators, West Bengal Chapter, as saying.

Photo Credit: Army personnel rescue people from a violence-hit area of Manipur. (Photo credit: PTI)

According to Dutta, the price will remain the same for the next few days. "If we talked about flights from Imphal to Kolkata, Air India operated daily one flight in the morning. IndiGo operated four flights from Imphal to Kolkata including connected and direct flight. All flights were packed to capacity for the next two days,"

While a ticket for a business class on Air India is approximately Rs 17,000 on Tuesday, an economy class ticket costs Rs 14,000 for May 11, Dutta stated. However, the ticket price for an Air Asia flight from May 15 is Rs 4,000.

"IndiGo's direct flight on May 10 from Imphal to Kolkata is Rs 11,000 and connected flight have charged Rs 20,000 per head," the chairman added.

On the other hand, AirAsia, Flybig, and Alliance Air ran eight relief flights for the stranded people during the prevailing situation in Manipur and this is Centre's initiative for the safe evacuation of stranded people from the trouble-torn spots of Manipur.

Violent clashes broke out in the northeastern state after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the 10 hill districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, leading to the deaths of at least 54 people.

However, the situation is returning to normalcy in the northeastern state as the central government has deployed paramilitary forces to bring the situation under control.