No NoC, but Praful Patel cut the ribbon

Mangalore: Days after the ill-fated Air India Express flight IX-812 crashed at the Mangalore airport and claimed 158 lives, some damning facts about the airport are emerging. Official sources have revealed that the Rs 150-crore new terminal building of the Mangalore airport is still not in possession of a no-objection certificate from the Fire Department.
But that apparently is nothing serious for politicians, since Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel went ahead and inaugurated it on May 15.
Shocking as it may sound, the state-of-the-art terminal, to be functional from June, had failed to incorporate the Fire Department’s suggestions to change the design of basic equipment installed to fight blazes in the new terminal. Sources in Fire Department told Express that while the department had insisted on copper coated GIC standard pipes, the Mangalore Airports Authority of India had installed ordinary pipes, which are likely to corrode faster due to the airport’s proximity to the sea. “The corrosion will choke the supply of water and there would be no water in times of crisis,” sources pointed out.
28/05/10 Harsha/ExpressBuzz

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports May 2010, Safety May 2010