'Security at a Kolkata airport sloppy'

Kolkata: The Mumbai terror attack has led to heightened security in airports all over the country, but the arrangements at the NSCBI airport in Kolkata have left much to be desired, especially in its cargo sections, claim employees of the Airport Authority.
As many as 70 contract staff enters the two cargo sections in the airport -- of import and export cargo at the international terminal and the courier cargo at the domestic terminal -- everyday using a copy of a single entry pass.
“Normally one pass is issued against any one person, but in case of the contract staff, who mainly work in offloading goods, 30 people are allowed against one pass”, secretary of the Airport Authorities Employees Union Dipankar Ghosh told reporters.
"All the contract staff has one copy of the original with all the 30 names written on the back side of the pass," Ghosh said.
"This is a serious breach of security and anyone can enter the main airport area using this cargo pass."
Asked about it, the security manager of the airport, Prafulla Sinha, told PTI, "Though I have not heard of such a thing, this is not my fault if many people are entering the cargo section with one pass. The pass is issued by someone else not me."
Also, of the six entry gates in the international cargo terminal, three have been closed after the 26/11, but at the other three security deployment is minimal.
Only two CISF jawans have been deputed at a gate of the old cargo terminal which had been closed a year ago.
18/01/09 PTI/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2009, Safety Jan 2009