SRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 26: The Jammu & Kashmir Civil Society Forum (JKCSF) on Wednesday raised serious concerns over the sharp disparity in airfare for Haj pilgrims from Srinagar, calling it an unfair financial burden.
Forum Chairman Abdul Qayoom Wani urged the government to intervene and ensure uniform pricing across all embarkation points. He highlighted a decline in Haj applications from Jammu & Kashmir in recent years, with only 4,100 applications received this year against the allotted 7,900 seats, and just 3,600 applicants making the final payment.
In a statement, JKCSF revealed that the airfare from Srinagar to Jeddah/Madina has been set at Rs 1,66,811, significantly higher than Rs 92,054 from Delhi and Rs 83,109 from Mumbai. Even after factoring in domestic flight costs from Srinagar to these cities, Kashmiri pilgrims still face an additional burden of Rs 64,857 (Delhi) and Rs 71,702 (Mumbai).
“This disparity is glaring and unfair. Why should Kashmiri pilgrims be forced to pay such exorbitant rates? The government must explain this,” said Wani, questioning whether the airfare structure follows a uniform bidding process and why Srinagar remains disproportionately affected.
JKCSF has appealed to Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to raise the issue with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and the Haj Committee of India. They have also called for a review of the bidding system to eliminate regional disparities in ticket pricing.