RiInaugurating the Janal Connectivity Scheme (RCS) ‘Udaan’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that ‘we believed that the air service is only for the king and the Maharajas. This thinking should change. I also want to see people wearing air slippers in the plane. Under this scheme, it was proposed to rebuild 45 airports in the country not only closed or useless but also to build several new airports. During these eight years, many new airports have also been constructed. But the question is whether this new airport and air travel by them is providing some benefits to the people wearing ‘air slippers’? How much is that claim of the Prime Minister who announced to provide a flight of Rs 2500/- per hour on an average under this scheme. At that time, Prime Minister Modi, while touching the sentiments of the poor people, also said that -‘I have seen poverty. I have lived in poverty, no journey has to be done to see poverty.
I remember till date tears used to go out while cooking my mother’s food. Similarly, tears come out while lighting every mother’s stove. Therefore, a plan has been launched to give free gas stove to poor families. Whereas the truth is that after this scheme, the price of gas increased so much that millions of housewives could not get the gas refill again. However, the question is, what is the situation today about air travel after this populist claim made 8 years ago? Are the wearers wearing air slippers, that is, the poor people of the country are able to travel by air?
The bigger question is that in the country in which the government itself claims that we are providing free ration to 80 crore people of the country, how effective it can be to encourage the poor people who take free ration to take air travel? If not, was the ‘rhyme of’ rhymes’ rhymes like ‘air travel in aerial slippers’ was just a populist jumla? At least this was seen during the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj. It is also being claimed here that 65 crore people took a bath in Mahakumbh. In this too, most of the people were the same ‘beneficiaries of ration’ who came and went to the pilgrimage in air slippers or barefoot in Mahakumbh.
During the Kumbh Mela, the poor people who died in the stampede were also the same ‘aerial slippers’. The question was to reach Prayagraj to take a bath on the Sangam coast by the ‘plane of air slippers’ at the Kumbh Mela, during that time the air travel remained a nightmare for the poor, while the airlines definitely fiercely silver. The aircraft fares in Indian history never increased as an uncontrolled increase during the Aquarius. Just think that the air fare of Delhi Allahabad, which used to be between 4 to 5 thousand rupees on normal days, was charged from 13 thousand to 80 thousand rupees per passenger during Kumbh. That is, the fare from Delhi to London was 30 percent cheaper than the rent of Allahabad during that time.
The same situation during that time was the rent of aircraft coming from different regions of the country from Allahabad. Sometimes ten times the rent was charged up to ten times and sometimes up to twenty times. Not only this, the facility of Sangam bath was also provided for the wealthy people through a helicopter from the airport. Its fare was kept at Rs 35 thousand per person. With this, the passenger could reach the confluence directly from the airport. This facility was made available so that the devotees can take advantage of it and take a bath in the holy confluence without a jam. This convenient flight was arranged by a company named Falai Ola. Undoubtedly the occasion of Mahakumbh proved to be a big business event for the airlines, while air slippers were longing to crave?
After the Kumbh Mela, there was also a discussion that this unprecedented people who gathered in Prayagraj influenced the GDP of the country. Uttar Pradesh also raised huge revenue. From small shopkeepers traders, boat, rickshaws, taxi goya people of each business field earned more money than their ability. But the investments made by some big companies in the hotel sector in making this event high tech were also surprising. The fare of 60 thousand to one lakh rupees per night was charged from the wealthy devotees. Dome City was made. Different and safe avenues were set to reach these special places.
Till the time the stampede did not happen, special facilities, routes, bathing ghats and safety etc. were provided to VIPs. Just if millions of people spent winter nights under the open sky or were seen dying or disappearing in a stampede, then it was the same ‘beneficiary’ family who takes free ration and takes Revdi from these politicians and also takes a ‘certificate of being a beggar’ from these politicians. And there is also hope of traveling air in air slippers. Whereas the reality is that even in a historic event like Mahakumbh, the desire of ‘air slippers’ traveling to air was just a dream.
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