Darjeeling: The ongoing flood in North Bengal has severed most of the road and rail links leaving airways as the only option. With the rush of passengers, the price of air tickets have skyrocketed.
The North Bengal plains, including North and South Dinajpur, Malda Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar are in the grip of the flood.
Incessant rainfall coupled with rising water level of rivers flowing through this region has led to the flood in this region. The condition of Malda, North and South Dinajpur has further deteriorated.
Railway tracks have been damaged in more than 16 places will trains plying only from South Bengal till Malda. If the weather improves, there are chances of some trains resuming from July 20, stated a Railway source.
"We managed to come down from Assam and have to go to Kolkata for my mother's treatment. There are no trains and we have spent the last two days on the platforms of NJP," stated Anjali Das from Assam.
Special trains, however, plied from Guwahati to Dalkhola. The same problem persists for the roads as well with the National Highways passing through North Bengal submerged in many places and damaged.
Many connecting bridges and culverts have been washed away. North Bengal State Transport is plying only on the Kolkata-Malda stretch. There are 28 buses from Kolkata to Siliguri but they could not come farther than Malda and Raiganj.
With such a condition, the only option available is Air services. "The flights are packed to the capacity. More than 3,000 passengers left Bagdogra Airport on Wednesday. The same has been the case for the past few days," stated Rakesh Sahay, Director, Bagdogra Airport.
There are 19 outgoing and 19 incoming flights from Bagdogra. "I paid around Rs 16,000 for a ticket. It is an emergency and I have to reach Kolkata," stated Uttam Das, a resident of Jalpaiguri. The usual fare from Bagdogra to Kolkata at this time of the year is around Rs 3,000.