Bengaluru, 11 Sept

Kerala’s biggest festival Onam is round the corner and Malayalis staying in Bengaluru are heading back home. But, the spike in prices of buses and flights has burned a hole in their pockets.

The prices for sleeper seats on buses from Bengaluru to Kochi and Trivandrum have touched around Rs 4, 000, while tickets for popular trains to Kerala from Bengaluru have all been fully booked. KP Biju, a native of Kochi running an establishment in Bengaluru, said: “AC luxury buses leaving Bengaluru on Thursday evening are selling tickets priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 and the prices will go up on Friday.’’

According to South Western Railway officials, there are no tickets available and the most popular Bengaluru-Kanyakumari Island Express is running full for the next few days. The waiting list for train tickets has gone up to more than 200 in the sleeper category of most trains departing from Yeshwanthpur and KSR Bengaluru.

S Satish Kumar of Royal Rich India, which operates services to Kochi from Bengaluru, said: “Due to the huge rush, we are trying to add more buses to our fleet. Because of Onam, the prices have gone up to Rs 3,000 per ticket, which on other days would cost only Rs 1,600.”

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is operating extra services for the festival and the price for AC sleeper seats is around Rs 2,400. Its Kerala counterpart has announced special services from Thursday to Sunday. Bengaluru-Ernakulam buses will start at 5.30pm, 6.30pm, 7.30pm, 7.45pm and 8.30pm. Those from Ernakulam to Bengaluru will start at 5.30 pm, 6.30pm, 7pm, 7.30pm and 8.15pm, according to a statement.

Prices on Indigo Airlines shot up to Rs 5,254 from Bengaluru to Thiruvananthapuram while tickets were priced at Rs  2,175 to Kochi from Bengaluru. —Salar News