Sky-high fares ground Barak valley flyers as connectivity crisis deepens

Silchar, July 9: In Barak Valley, where landslides and rail disruption have become an annual monsoon misery, air travel — once a luxury — has turned into a reluctant lifeline. But for many, even that lifeline now feels painfully out of reach.

A mere 30-minute flight from Silchar to Guwahati is now costing close to Rs 10,000 — a price many residents describe as “daylight robbery”.

With the Lumding–Silchar rail line again rendered unreliable due to inclement weather, passengers are left to choose between waiting out indefinite delays or shelling out amounts they simply cannot afford.

“I thought there was a glitch - Rs 9,800 for a 30-minute flight? That’s my father’s entire monthly pension,” exclaimed Nabanita Roy, who had to cancel plans to take her ailing father to Guwahati for a medical consultation.

The frustration is widespread. From students and jobseekers to traders and patients, the soaring ticket prices have drawn flak from all corners.

Asit Dutta, chief of the Food Grains Merchants Association, called the situation “deeply unfair”, especially after Air India’s exit from the Silchar–Kolkata route left the sector at the mercy of a single airline operator.

“We’ve protested the Air India withdrawal, but our concerns have fallen on deaf ears,” he said.

With IndiGo being the only airline operating on the Silchar–Guwahati route, the lack of competition has allowed ticket prices to balloon.

A direct flight, lasting no more than 50 minutes, now costs anywhere between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000 — a fare that many residents argue could fund a round trip to Southeast Asia.

Prominent advocate Dharmananda Deb has now taken the matter to the highest office. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he urged urgent intervention to address what he termed an “irrational and discriminatory” pricing structure.

“The Agartala–Guwahati sector, which is longer, offers tickets for as low as Rs 1,800. Why is Barak Valley being penalised?” his letter asks.

Deb, who also reached out to the Union Civil Aviation Minister and the Assam Chief Minister, highlighted that in a region routinely battered by natural calamities, air travel is not a luxury — it's a lifeline.

“We need this mode of transport for emergency medical care, education, jobs, and administration. This is about equitable access,” he said.

Rajya Sabha MP Kanad Purkayastha echoed similar sentiments. In a statement to The Assam Tribune, he said, “We are staring at a humanitarian challenge. The railway is down, roads are unpredictable, and the sky has become a monopoly. This is no way to treat a region.”

Purkayastha, who recently met Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol, has urged the Centre to allow more airline operators into Silchar.

“Only competition can bring down the fares. Without that, the people of Barak will continue to suffer silently,” he said.

As letters are dispatched and promises made, the people of Barak Valley wait — stranded not just by landslides, but by sky-high prices that threaten to isolate them even further.