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| Local travel agents lock horns with SASB | | Amarnath Yatra | | Jehangir Rashid
Early Times Report
srinagar, July 23: Accusing the tour and travel operators operating outside the state of selling the tickets for the operation of heli-services for Amarnath Yatra on exorbitant rates, various Kashmir based tour and travel players today demanded for immediate stoppage of the helicopter services.
Addressing a press conference here today, the tour and travel players said that the tour operators operating the heli-services are selling the tickets on higher rates and give the impression that the local people are involved in the whole process. They said that Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) is fully aware about the developments, but no action has been taken so far.
"Ninety five (95) percent of tickets for the heli-services have been routed through the Kashmir based tour and travel operators. We have purchased these tickets at Rs. 3,900 each and sold them to the companies operating the heli-services. In turn the companies sell the tickets at much higher rates to the Yatries and put the blame on us," said Rauf Tramboo, President Adventure Tour Operators Association of Kashmir (ATOAK).
Rauf alleged that there is a deep rooted nexus between the company officials and the SASB authorities. He said the tour operators of Kashmir are being defamed for no fault of theirs adding that the companies operating the heli-services are the real 'culprits'. He said that Governor Narendra Nath Vohra who is also the chairman of SASB does not know about all the developments taking place.
"An impression is being given that everything is fine and there are no problems whatsoever in allotment of tickets for the Yatries who wish to use the helicopter services for undertaking the Yatra. The Governor should look into the matter and if that is not the case then it is better to stop the helicopter services," said Rauf.
Mohammad Akram Siah, President Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TASK) accused the SASB of ignoring the Malik family of Pahalgam that discovered the Shiv Lingam decades back. He claimed that the helicopter services have damaged the environment and ecology of the area where the Lingam is located.
"Amarnath Yatra is a religious pilgrimage and ideally people who undertake this pilgrimage reach the cave on foot. Still we had welcomed the start of heli-services for the Yatra, but since it has damaged the reputation of Kashmir based tour operators it needs to be stopped henceforth," said Akram.
Akram said that they had seven or eight times approached the higher ups of SASB for a meeting with the Governor, but the same was denied to them. He said that two companies namely Pawan Hans and Global Victa have monopolized the whole system of allotment of tickets and they are dictating the terms.
He said that these companies quote low rates at the time of tendering and once they are allotted the same they sell tickets at exorbitant rates through their agents located in New Delhi, Mumbai or some other place in the country.
The tour operators also pitched for a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the allotment of tickets saying that this would clear the air. Besides ATOAK and TASK, representatives of Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI-Kashmir), Tourist Trade Interest Guild, Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Alliance (JKTA), Association of Tour Operators of Kashmir (ATOK), All Kashmir Tour Operators (AKTO) and Urban Travel Agents were also present in the press conference. |
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