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| Kathmandu, Thursday September 26, 2002 Ashwin 10, 2059. |
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Sheer negligence
This refers to the news story titled
"Damaged runway creates chaos at TIA", dated September 25, 2002, TKP.
I read this story yesterday as well, that a
helicopter which belonged to Royal Nepal Army crashed while taking off at TIA. Your paper
showed a picture of the helicopter lying on the airport and a few army personnel guarding
it. Of the total fourteen, three crew members were reportedly injured. The concerned
authority which is supposed to provide security and clear the runway for international
flights at TIA knew that the mishap would disrupt the movement of international flights.
Despite their knowledge, hundreds of passengers who had booked onward tickets had to
either cancel or lose their money. This is sheer negligence on the part of the TIA
authority. I wonder, how the authority could remain unaware of the fact that the
helicopter had disrupted the flight movement? Bharat Dahal, the chief of airport security
division, simply brushed aside the genuine grievances of the passengers, stating "the
repair work is going on at war footing." Bharat Dahal, instead of clearing the
runway, began to repair the helicopter.
The way Dahal reasoned the delay in clearing
the runway shows that he is too poor to manage the airport security. The country has lost
more than five million rupees in two days simply because of poor maintenance. The
government must set up a commission and probe into why there was delay in clearing the
runway for international flights. Such technical or deliberate delay will cripple the
country’s tourism sector than anything else.
Sakuntala Sharma
Kathmandu |
