The Chief Minister also asked the Prime Minister to reconsider starting the Railways’ decision to abandon the Nemom Coaching Terminal project in Thiruvananthapuram. Both the issues were raised by Vijayan in separate letters addressed to the Prime Minister
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked the Prime Minister to intervene in the issue of rising air fares in the country, saying that it was not only causing hardship to non-resident Indians, but was also affecting revival of the tourism sector which was vital to the economy, reported PTI.
In addition, the Chief Minister also asked the Prime Minister to reconsider starting the Railways’ decision to abandon the Nemom Coaching Terminal project in Thiruvananthapuram. Both the issues were raised by Vijayan in separate letters addressed to the Prime Minister on July 2.
As for air fares, the Kerala Chief Minister said airline ticket charges both in the international and domestic sectors were “exorbitantly high” when compared to the pre-COVID rates and it was affecting the NRIs. The tourism sector in Kerala, which was on the threshold of a turnaround would be impacted by the high air fares that were “a serious dampener to the revival of this sector”.
“The Nemom Coaching Terminal project, which is proposed as a satellite terminal for trains departing from and terminating at Thiruvananthapuram Central, is essential for the development of rail traffic in the State. I request you to intervene so that the decision to abandon the above project is reconsidered and to ensure that an early approval is granted for the same.”
— Kerala Chief Minister
“I request your immediate personal intervention in this matter so as to alleviate the difficulties of NRIs and to help the tourism sector, the revival of which is vital for our economy,” Vijayan said in the letter.
In the other letter, the Chief Minister said the decision to drop the Nemom Coaching Terminal project was “a major setback to the rail infrastructure development of Kerala”. The project had been first included in the Union Budget of 2011-12 and its importance was acknowledged by the Union Railways Minister while laying its foundation stone in March 2019. The CM pointed out that the landowners whose land had been acquired for the project would be put to undue hardship, reported PTI. “The Nemom Coaching Terminal project, which is proposed as a satellite terminal for trains departing from and terminating at Thiruvananthapuram Central, is essential for the development of rail traffic in the State. I request you to intervene so that the decision to abandon the above project is reconsidered and to ensure that an early approval is granted for the same,” the Chief Minister said.
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