Dereliction of duty: 4 immigration officials shifted out of Ahmedabad airport

Ahmedabad: Ever thought you’d miss work because you drank too much bhang the day before and so couldn’t wake up on time! If such a possibility enters your mind, you will not like it to happen — especially when you learn about its consequences!
The city police recently transferred (read punishment transfer) four immigration officials from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) International Airport for being absent from their work place. Their absence made 15 international passengers to wait for nearly three hours for immigration clearance which was eventually not done. The passengers had to be put into another plane as domestic passengers.
Though the incident took place at the airport a month back, the transfer was effected only last week. One of the four officials had reportedly taken bhang the day before on the occasion of Shivratri on March 3 and the intoxication it caused was such that he couldn’t make it to work the next day. Because of this, the immigration work could not be done.
According to airport sources, on March 4, Air India’s international flight (AI 636) landed with more than 80 passengers on board. When the passengers arrived at the immigration desk for clearance, four officials were absent, and the lone official on duty didn’t have access to the formalities required to deal with international passengers.
07/04/11 Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Airports Apr 2011