Airfares on Delhi-Dharamshala route soar ahead of investors’ meet

Flying to Dharamshala is burning holes in the pockets of flyers as airfares to the hill-town have shot up ahead of the investors’ meet, which is scheduled for November 7 and 8 here.

According to the data gathered from travel websites, the airfares on the Delhi-Dharamshala route have soared manifold.

More than 2,000 investors are likely to attend the event, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Gaggal airport near Dharamshala receives three flights daily, one by private airline SpiceJet and two by Alliance Air, the domestic arm of Air India.

In the off-season, one ticket on Delhi-Dharamshala sector costs between ₹5,000 to ₹6,000. However, on Saturday, the cost of a one-way ticket on SpiceJet flight to Dharamshala was around ₹14,000 while on Air India flight it was above ₹21,000.

On Sunday, the one-way trip will cost almost similar to that on Saturday.

The SpiceJet ticket on November 4 will cost below ₹8,000 and on Alliance Air, it will be just above ₹10,000.

Air ticket prices will peak again on November 5 when SpiceJet ticket will cost ₹13,882 and Alliance Air between ₹12,000 and ₹17,000.

On November 7, the inaugural day of the investors’ meet, Alliance Air ticket will cost more than ₹21,000 while the SpiceJet flight is already booked.

The ticket cost will be highest between ₹20,000 to 21,0000 on both SpiceJet and Alliance Air on November 8.

Gaggal airport manager Milan Gurung said airfares increase or decrease according to demand due to dynamic prices.

13 ADDITIONAL PARKING SLOTS EARMARKED

To ease out the parking problem during the investors’ meet in Dharamshala, the district police have earmarked 13 additional parking places across the town.

Kangra senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vimukt Ranjan said an additional parking will accommodate around 1,000 vehicles.

Meanwhile, the district administration has assigned different duties to the high officers during the investors’ meet.

Deputy commissioner (DC) Rakesh Kumar Prajapati will be the overall in-charge, while additional deputy commissioner Raghav Sharma has been given the responsibility of accommodation of the guests and additional district magistrate (ADM) MR Bhardwaj will manage the transportation facilities.

SSP Vimukt Ranjan and additional SP Akriti Sharma will oversee the traffic and parking management.

Assistant commissioner to DC Madan Kumar has been made in-charge of liaison officers.

OVER 150 ARTISTES TO PRESENT CULTURAL ITEMS

A troupe of more than 150 artistes from across the state will present cultural items showcasing the cultural and tradition of Himachal Pradesh during the meet. The main attraction will be folk dances of the state.