| Heavy rush on New Year; Railways packed, Airfare increased | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 21: All trains are packed for next one month and the Air fare have also been increased by more than 20 percent as thousands of people have decided to pay obeisance at Vaishno Devi Shrine on the eve of new year.
Pilgrims planning to visit Vaishno Devi and other shrines at the City of temples during the last days of the year 2013 are disappointed with the means of transport as all the trains from and for Jammu are full for the next one month and the Air fares are 15-20 Per Cent higher than the average rates. Despite of having daily traffic of 25-30 trains to and fro at Jammu Tawi Railway Station, pilgrims fail to get a confirm ticket from or for Jammu Tawi these days. As per the tentative figures of the Shrine Board, more than 1 crore pilgrims have paid obeisance at Vaishno Devi Shrine till now and a heavy rush is expected on llast week of December and first week of January, especially on December 31.
Arun Sharma, a Vaishno Devi Pilgrim from Jaipur said, "We didn't get the return ticket for Jaipur and decided to get it in Tatkal, but we didn't get the confirmation. The waiting list from Jammu to Jaipur is more than 100."
Officials of the Northern Railways said, "Due to last days of December and the beginning of new year, all trains from and for Jammu Tawi are fully packed."
"To control the heavy rush and accommodate all the passengers and pilgrims, we have some special trains from Udhampur to Delhi," he added.
However, many of the pilgrims are still not getting a confirm ticket. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the heavy rush and school holidays, All the Airlines have increased Airfare for Jammu. The average rate of the airfare for Delhi - Jammu was around Rs. 4500 but for the month of December till January 3, the fare in not less than Rs. 5500 in any flight. As far as the flights from Delhi to Srinagar are concerned, they are charging slightly lesser then Jammu. "I usually get ticket for Delhi within Rs. 5000, but I was shocked when I checked the rates for December 29, there was no ticket below Rs. 6500," said Ajay Chopra, a business man, from Delhi.
An official of private Airlines said "This is the trend of the Airlines, whenever the demand raises the fare increases accordingly; It is completely on the first come first serve basis, "Many of the people book their ticket a month before to get a better deal, but for instant booking they have to pay more as the tickets are less," he added. |
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