AGARTALA, Dec 26 (TIWN): Tripura’s misery multiplied tenfold in 10 months BJP rule as scarcity of flights and high fares destroying hopes for future.When numbers of flights have decreased heavily since BJP came in power, flight fares are sky-rocketing, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb said that under Modi Govt Airways have been developed heavily and in coming days, India will have 1000 Aircrafts. Biplab Deb was addressing in a BJP gathering on the occasion of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary and said, “India has enormous number of Air crafts at national and international level. Right now it’s over 450 aircrafts and under PM Modi soon it will cross thousands as Indian Airlines already made booking for it”. However, talking about Tripura CM said that even though Tripura lost few flights all will be resumed. Slamming CPI-M Ex-CM Manik Sarkar, Biplab Deb said, for Manik Sarkar development meant MGNREGA, whereas for Modi development means increasing aircrafts.On the other side, common men are heavily disturbed, suffering due to the ongoing flight ticket crisis. They are bound to buy tickets at double, triple prices, where the minimum price starts from 5000-6000.

Since the BJP Govt came in power, flight fares made a serious up, increased even at Rs. 16000-17000. But after every visit, Chief Minister Biplab Deb claims that flight fare will be down and new flight will be launched whereas except empty promises nothing happened when so many flights were reduced in service.

On 6th November in a Kali Puja function, Chief Minister Biplab Deb promised that within 15 days new flight will be launched but now more than one-and-half months are gone without any development.

Costly flight tickets in all routes have hit the passengers in Tripura everyday, whereas the Civil Aviation department of the Central Govt had urged all state govts to reduce VAT on ATF in March 2018. Not only flight tickets are at crisis but one after flights are quitting Tripura, but Govt has no intention to reduce the VAT. Many states have reduced ATF taxes following the call of the Central Govt.

Ex-Chief Minister Manik Sarkar also interfered the flight crisis issue, but from BJP Govt nothing could be assured so far.

Earlier, opposition Congress had demanded that within 7 days an immediate down in the VAT charges on aviation turbine fuel in Tripura should be introduced. The VAT is 18% whereas Congress has demanded it should be 4% following other Northeast States.