Kolkata: Tour operators are in a fix as several Kolkata -Assam bound flights remained cancelled due to protest against Citizenship Amendment Bill.
"We are requesting airlines not to charge any fee for flight cancellation or for changing of the date of the trip. At present, we are advising the travelers not to travel in places where there is unrest at present," said Anil Punjabi, Chairman (Eastern Region) of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI).
"With respect to the ongoing unrest situation in Assam, a few Guwahati and Dibrugarh bound IndiGo flights stand cancelled for December 12, 2019. We are operating relief flights at capped fares for passengers who are currently at these locations. Additionally, we are offering rescheduling/cancellation fee waiver to the passengers travelling to/from Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Jorhat till December 13, 2019," read a statement issued by IndiGo. Other airlines — Vistara and GoAir — also announced the cancellation of flights to these two cities.
"It is difficult to estimate the extend of losses due to unrest in Assam. The tourism sector badly hit due to this," said Arpan Mitra of CTS Holidays, Kolkata. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill seeks to provide Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan after facing religious persecution there.
Five columns of the Army have been deployed in different parts of the state and are conducting flag marches in Guwahati, Tinsukia, Jorhat and Dibrugarh.
According to sources, the administration had suspended mobile Internet services for 24 hours from 7 pm on Wednesday in ten districts of the state — Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Golaghat, Kamrup (metro) and Kamrup.
"The situation is normal in Jammu and Kashmir. All flights to and fro the Kashmir Valley were cancelled due to poor visibility caused by heavy fog," said Ahsan-ul-Haq, the officer in-charge of the Jammu and Kashmir tourist office in Kolkata.