By Poulami Kundu: The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Saturday asked airlines to keep a tab on fares for flights to and from Bhubaneswar and other airports in Odisha. The guidelines were issued in light of the Odisha train tragedy, that has claimed at least 288 lives so far, and has left over 900 injured.
Further, people will not be required to pay extra charges for cancellation and rescheduling of any flight, the advisory said. Airlines have also been asked to provide full assistance to bringing back the remains of those deceased in the tragic rail accident in Odisha, back to their resident states.
“In view of the unfortunate accident in Odisha, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has advised all airlines to monitor any abnormal surge in airfares to and from Bhubaneswar and other airports of the State and take necessary action regarding the same,” MoCA said.
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The accident that took place in Balasore on Friday involved three trains — Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Kolkata-Chennai Coromandel Express, and a goods train. The restoration work is underway at the accident site and bogies are being moved away from the tracks.
PM Modi visited the accident site and the Fakir Mohan hospital in Balasore after that, where he met the injured passengers. He was accompanied by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who had earlier visited the site of the horrific train accident.
He termed the incident ‘tragic’ and said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the state government and the Indian Army were involved with the rescue operations at the spot.
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