As the flood situation and landslides snapped rail and road connectivity to the southern Assam districts, Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) has signed an agreement with scheduled commuter FlyBig to start daily “emergency flight” service between Silchar and Guwahati.
“Due to the increase in demand, the fare of air tickets of commercial airlines have substantially increased and it is becoming a hardship for general public to bear such increased airfare cost. Considering the great hardship being faced by the general public due to sudden spike of airfare, Government of Assam has decided to operate emergency flight service between Silchar and Guwahati at subsidised rate of Rs 3,000 through Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC),” a communication from the DIPR said.
“As approved by the cabinet, ATDC will sign a MoU in this regard with FlyBig, which is already providing regional connectivity in Assam and Northeast states,” the communication added.
Road and rail connectivity between Barak Valley and rest of the state were severely affected after heavy rainfall followed by massive landslides in the hilly terrain. The railway route connecting Lumding with Badarpur is completely off-limits as heavy rainfall and mudslide uprooted tracks and bridges in Dima Hasao district.
The DIPR press release added that tickets for the special flight service will be available at special counter at DC office in Cachar and ATDC’s head office at Paltan Bazar in Guwahati.
On May 19, a same day Air India ticket to Silchar from Guwahati was available at Rs 29,539. However, it is not a direct flight service and will have stoppages at Delhi and Kolkata.
A direct 50-minute flight from Guwahati to Silchar for May 20 was available at Rs 11,539.
