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| Black marketing of Amarnath Yatra air tickets begins at Pahalgam | | | Saahil Suhail
Early Times Report
Anantnag, July 1 : With the resumption of Amarnath Yatra, the black marketing of tickets for helicopter services to Holy Cave has also started.
Sources told Early Times that a number unregistered tour and travel agents at Pahalgam are selling these tickets to pilgrims at very exorbitant rates.
"At Pahalgam pilgrims are being charged over Rs 9,000 for a ticket," they claimed.
The Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board has fixed Rs 5502 for Pahalgam-Panjtarni (round trip) helicopter services.
They said that the general sales agents roped in by the helicopter company operating on Pahalgam-Panjtarni route are black marketing air tickets.
"These Jammu based sales agents of Helicopter Company are selling tickets to some unregistered tour and travels agents at Pahalgam illegally who then resort to illegal profiteering," they added.
The hoardings installed by these shopkeepers at Pahalgam read 'Amarnath Yatra tickets available'.
A Lucknow based pilgrim, who pleaded anonymity, told early Times that tour and travels agents are too resorting to illegal profiteering.
"Tour and travels agents don't sell tickets separately but include Pahalgam-Panjtarni Yatra ticket in the package and then sells it," he said.
"I too had purchased this ticket through the package. Most of the people here have also purchased it through same way," pilgrim, waiting for his turn at Pahalgam helipad told this reporter.
He said that he and his colleagues attempted to book the ticket from company's official website but couldn't as it always flash 'sold out' message.
Helicopter Company operating on Pahalgam-Panjtarni route has also put strict conditions for pilgrims intending to book air ticket through their website.
Among them is that only one transaction against one user ID, one IP Address, one e-mail address, one mobile number, one ID proof and one credit/debit card can be used for a maximum of 5 tickets in a span of 30 days, however one doesn't understand how agents are then booking these tickets.
A group of Pilgrims urged Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra who is also the chairman of Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board to look into the issue.
"Booking of tickets manually and selling of tickets in packages must be stopped as it encourages illegal profiteering," they demanded.
No representative of concerned helicopter company was available for a comment. |
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