Assam govt to subsidize air travel between Guwahati and Silchar

GUWAHATI: Assam government on Wednesday has stepped in with subsidies to help people fly between Guwahati and Silchar after air fare shot up by more than two folds since Monday between the two places which were cut off from train and road communication by flood and landslides.
The state cabinet chaired by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma approved a MoU signed between the state government and FlyBig, which operates in northeast under the UDAAN scheme, to operate between Guwahati and Silchar with a fixed airfare of Rs 3000 for 10 days from Friday.
“There are many people who had gone to Silchar and had come to from Barak Valley and are stranded due to the cut in communication. We have signed an MoU with FlyBig. The cabinet has fixed the airfare at Rs 3000 and whatever additional cost is there the state government will provide the subsidy,” Sarma said.
He said that tickets can be purchased online as well as from office of Cachar deputy commissioner and the Assam Tourism Development Corporation office here.
For a one-hour direct flight between Guwahati and Silchar, the online travel companies on Tuesday evening were charging Rs 11,739 per ticket, more than twice the normal price between Rs 3,500 and Rs 4,000. On Friday, there was no change in the price but on Saturday there was a marginal drop to Rs 10,639.