Airport CISF men need training in flier care

Kolkata: The complaint made by Gauravmoy Nath on Friday that a CISF inspector manhandled his wife Zinia and their daughters Sohini and Ushani is not a stray incident. Similar allegations have been made against them in the past.
When TOI contacted CISF commandant Jayati Ghosh, she claimed the incident was "minor". "The passengers were irritated as they were asked to come back to the security hold from the departure gate. Other passengers stood by them because the public in general bear an animosity to men in uniform. It's a deep-rooted mindset that gets ingrained over time," she said.
Airline officials and Airports Authority of India (AAI) officers think likewise, but they emphasised that CISF officials posted at the Kolkata airport should need some orientation programme to handle fliers. "It's absolutely true that the public have some aversion to men in uniform. But CISF jawans quite often behave rudely with fliers. Being representatives of a paramilitary force, they should realize the difference between an enemy and a passenger violating norms," said a ground security staff of Kingfisher.
An Emirates Airline staff said CISF officials need more courses in order to cope with passengers.
"I admit that people have an aversion to men in uniform," an Air India staff said. "But whose responsibility is it to bring back the passengers' faith? The CISF officers need an orientation course on how to behave with passengers.
CISF officials have apparently realized the importance of such courses. In fact, they are now conducting refresher courses after every two-three months. "We counsel our jawans with behaviour when it comes to interacting with passengers," said a CISF officer.
When TOI approached Ghosh on Saturday to find out the details of such orientation courses, she refused to comment.
18/01/09 Arpit Basu/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2009