11k fly out of Srinagar on Wednesday, 2k more than a normal day
NEW DELHI: About 11,000 people - mostly peak
summer season holidayers
- are expected to have flown out of Srinagar on Wednesday, a day after the
Pahalgam attack
. Airport sources say Srinagar on an average sees 52 aircraft arrivals and as many departures daily with 10,000-12,000 passengers (about half of them arrivals and half departures) in non-peak and 16,000-18,000 in the current peak season, reports Saurabh Sinha.
Srinagar Airport
, which handles flights from 6 am to 10 pm, on Wednesday saw 9,251 passengers fly out on 47 flights till 7pm. With several more flights in the remaining three hours, this number is expected to swell further by anywhere up to 2,000.
Given the exodus, airlines, including Air India, IndiGo and AI Express, operated seven extra flights on Wednesday to fly out people from there. Srinagar-bound flights saw a large number of passenger cancellations.
The rush to fly out caused fares for flights out of Srinagar to briefly rise to as high as Rs 32,000 for a one-way journey to Delhi, prompting govt to step in.
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Hindustan Times
39 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
The marvel and meaning aboard train to Kashmir's first journey
Javid Ahmed wasn't expecting tourists at Srinagar station on a Saturday. 'We haven't had more than a handful of tourists for the past few weeks,' said the 29-year-old taxi driver. 'Business has been lean since Pahalgam.' But on a quiet Eid afternoon, a gleaming hulk of metal and glass rumbled into the deserted Srinagar station with over 500 passengers, catching shopkeepers, hawkers and taxi drivers — accustomed to mostly seeing train riders from within the valley — by surprise. This was a train from Jammu. The Vande Bharat Express from Katra to Srinagar made its inaugural journeys on Saturday, bridging Kashmir with India's rail network — the culmination of a decades-long project that overcame steep engineering challenges and evolving political considerations. Passengers emphasised that the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat, which takes less than three hours for a 190km trip, would reorient travel between Kashmir and the rest of India, making what was either an expensive or arduous journey significantly cheaper, faster and more reliable. 'The highway routes between the two regions are at the mercy of weather and topography,' said Kishore Uppal, who works in Baramulla and lives in Jammu. 'The narrow roads mean you could be stuck for hours even if a bus breaks down on a bend,' said the 66-year-old, who bought a ticket as soon as bookings opened. 'Travelling between home and work has always been a challenge for me. Flights are too expensive, especially during peak seasons. This train changes that completely,' said Uppal. But the two Chennai-made train sets, which run between Katra and Srinagar twice daily, may offer more than logistical relief. For residents of Jammu & Kashmir, the train may serve as salve for a Union territory bruised after the April 22 attack, which devastated the region's tourism recovery. 'We had no idea the trains would be packed. When we heard that the first train was full, we flocked to the station,' said Ahmed. The train's significance was evident even before it pulled out of Katra station in Jammu. Stationed on Platform 1 in orange and black and draped with garlands, the train drew dozens of people who jostled for photos at the train's nose while families pushed past each other. Many came to the platform just to film the train, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had flagged off on Friday. The first train departed for Srinagar at 8.10am, the second at 2.55pm. Both were booked to capacity, with 507 passengers each — families, traders, students and even local filmmakers. Each train made just one stop before Srinagar: at Banihal, where Jammu meets Kashmir. On its journey, the train cuts through stunning terrain, slicing through steep mountains, treacherous gorges and lush valleys. The first half passes through numerous tunnels, but passengers spring to the windows the moment the train emerges, phones ready. It also zips over the 1,315m-long Chenab bridge, sandwiched between Himalayan rockfaces and overlooking the imposing river more than 350m below. Many said they hurriedly rearranged their Eid schedules just to board the train. 'We actually had different plans for Eid,' said Aarif Hussain, who lives in Srinagar and was travelling with his family. 'But when we heard the trains were launching on Saturday, we booked a round-trip. We took the Vande Bharat from Srinagar to Katra, then caught the next one for the return journey,' said the 25-year-old UPSC aspirant. 'The train really is a game-changer for us. Road travel was inconvenient because of the unpredictability and discomfort. People get caught in landslides for days. And a one-way ticket from Srinagar to Jammu can cost upwards of ₹25,000 at peak times,' he said. Kashmir has waited years for this train, said Hussain. Work on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) spanned over three decades, since the project was commissioned in 1994-95. Modi's inauguration of the 63km link between Katra and Sangaldan in Jammu was the final piece, giving Kashmir its first rail connection with the rest of the country. Previously, people wanting to traverse the two regions could only take local trains between Sangaldan town in Jammu and Baramulla in Kashmir. Azhar Hussain, who lives in Srinagar, said the link would simplify commerce between the regions. The flow of apples from Kashmir to Jammu would be vastly streamlined, said the 32-year-old, who works in agro-chemicals. 'When freight services begin on this link, they will hugely ease industry headaches. Right now, apples can take three or four days to reach Jammu. Add the significant temperature difference between the regions, which stresses the fruit further,' he said. 'Now, theoretically, a crate of apples should reach Delhi from Srinagar in 12 hours,' he said. The Vande Bharat Express from Delhi to Katra takes around eight hours. Jaspreet Sabharwal, a homemaker from Jammu travelling with her husband Vikram, a doctor who works in Srinagar, said she had waited 25 years for this line. 'I've been hoping for this connection since I got married. My husband's journeys will become much easier, and so will mine,' she said. A Jammu & Kashmir Police officer travelling with his family said the line will help foster business and friendships with other states. 'This line is culturally just as important as it is strategically or for trade,' he said, declining to be named. 'Look, the first step to integration is connectivity. There's little point discussing improved relations between Kashmir and other parts of India if travel is so difficult. This train and this line will, if nothing else, mean people come to Kashmir more freely, more often,' said Aarif Hussain. 'And that's an important first step.' The service will expand over the coming months depending on demand, said railway officials. 'The infrastructure to expand the service is in place. Customer demand will dictate how soon we roll out those options,' said a Jammu division railway official who requested anonymity. But in an otherwise jubilant Vande Bharat, nine-year-old Viraj Thakur insisted he had a valid complaint. 'There are so many tunnels. How do I look outside?'
The Print
4 hours ago
- The Print
Northern Railways begins commercial operations of Vande Bharat train between Katra and Srinagar
Passengers who boarded the trains from Katra to Baramulla, or vice versa, expressed immense enthusiasm, with many stating they had eagerly awaited the opportunity to travel to Kashmir by train. The Vande Bharat express train, which was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Katra on June 6, connects Kashmir with the rest of the country through rail. Jammu, Jun 7 (PTI) The Northern Railways on Saturday commenced commercial operations of Vande Bharat trains between Katra and Srinagar, officials said. The first day of commercial operations went smoothly, as the trains reached their destinations by the evening, officials said. They added that public excitement was high, with most of the seats booked within hours of the train's inauguration. According to Northern Railway, two Vande Bharat train sets made four trips during the day between Katra and Srinagar. They said the train has two travel classes — Chair Car (CC) and Executive Class (EC) — with tickets priced at Rs 715 and Rs 1,320, respectively. PTI AB NB NB This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Consumer forum orders tour advance refund for man who had Covid-19
Ghaziabad: The consumer forum has ruled in favour of a man seeking a refund of a tour advance after contracting Covid in 2021. The forum observed that since the cancellation was due to circumstances beyond the consumer's control, the tour operator must return the advance amount and a Rs 5,000 fine within 45 days of the order. Petitioner Ishan Pratap Singh had booked a trip for his family from Mumbai to the Maldives between March 13 and 17, 2021, through Ineedtrip, a travel agency based out of Ghaziabad. Singh told the forum that he took a loan of Rs 1.4 lakh to pay a Rs 1.9 lakh advance to the company for the trip. "I had to take a RT-PCR test (a medical test to determine Covid infection) as per prevailing travel norms, and was detected positive for the infection on March 12, a day before the trip," the petitioner said, adding that he requested the travel agency to reschedule the trip for May 22 that year. However, the agency refused, stating that the free RT-PCR package was only valid until April 2021. "Eventually, I decided to opt for April 1 as the travel date, but given the pandemic and my health condition, I had to reschedule it to Nov 2021. The agent said that if the trip was not availed by Sept 2021, the hotel with which the agency had tied up would forfeit the booking amount," Singh told the forum. He added that the agency did not return the advance money, and he is still paying EMIs for the loan he took. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Что говорит о вашем характере поза, в которой вы спите! Удивительные Новости Undo Despite being served with notice, the respondents neither filed a reply nor appeared before the forum. Consequently, the consumer forum (Ghaziabad) president Praveen Kumar Jain and member RP Singh heard and passed the order ex parte. "The applicant requested an extension of the dates due to the pandemic and his health condition. The travel agency neither extended the dates nor returned the advance amount taken from the customer, which falls under the provisions of deficiency in service under the Consumer Protection Act. Accordingly, Ineedtrip is directed to pay the advance amount of Rs 1.9 lakh within 45 days of the order, with an interest of 6% from the date of the order until the final payment is made," the forum ruled. It also instructed the travel agency to pay Rs 5000 as compensation for legal costs and mental harassment to the petitioner.
