An education consultant spent ₹26,000 to book a flight ticket from Dhaka to Calcutta and another ₹6,000 on a taxi ride from her hotel to the airport in the riot-hit Bangladesh capital on Sunday.

Usually, it costs her not more than ₹8,000 to travel to Calcutta from Dhaka — the flight fares hover around the ₹7,000-mark and a cab ride to the airport from her hotel costs around ₹1,000.

Flight fares from Dhaka have soared sky high and taxis, too, are charging much higher than the usual fare because of the nationwide anti-quota protests, several fliers who landed in the city on Sunday told The Telegraph.

A nationwide curfew has been imposed in Bangladesh. The army is out on the streets to contain clashes between the protesters and the security forces.

Some tour operators and airlines said that with trains between the two countries cancelled and only a few buses operating, the demand for flight tickets and air fares have soared.

Education consultant Sharmistha Bhattacharya, who was on an official trip to Dhaka and Rajshahi from July 16, said she had to shell out ₹32,000 to reach Calcutta.

“I had to pay ₹26,000 for a flight back to Calcutta. Generally, the fare is around ₹7,000. The driver of a taxi charged ₹6,000 for the short drive from my hotel to the airport. The usual fare is around ₹1,000. As the situation was extremely scary, I had to get back. I am relieved that I am finally back home,” said Bhattacharya, who visits Bangladesh often for work.

Many Bangladeshis who are in Calcutta for medical treatment are tweaking their budgets to accommodate the increased flight fares.

Shahadat Hossain landed in Calcutta on Sunday with wife Rokaiya and son Jashim. Rokaiya will undergo surgery at a city hospital.

Hossain told this newspaper that he had to spend ₹75,000 on flight tickets.

“We are here as my wife will undergo an orthopaedic surgery. The flight tickets burnt a hole in my pocket but I had no option as the surgery dates were decided much in advance and the travel window specified in her medical visa would expire,” Hossain said.

This family had to pay ₹7,000 for the taxi ride from their home in Boliarpur in Dhaka to the airport, around 25km away.

Sajib Ahmed, a resident of Mohammadpur in Dhaka, said he could reach the airport as a friend volunteered to drive him.

He said he tried booking several taxis but the drivers either demanded exorbitant fares or refused to ferry. “The flight ticket has burnt a hole in my pocket. The airport is a 45-minute drive from my home but it took us more than an hour,” Ahmed said.

The Dhaka-Calcutta flight fares on the websites of several carriers on Sunday varied between ₹17,000 and ₹26,000 for a one-way trip.