02-03-2006, 12:55 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Left declares war on air travellers </b>
Pioneer.com
Vijaita Singh / New Delhi
Chaos and filth ruled the roost at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here on Thursday as the Left-sponsored strike by Airports Authority of India workers entered its second day. The eventual casualties were passengers who had to stand in serpentine queues to get their baggage, cope with unclean toilets and get fleeced by autowallahs and taxi drivers.
<b>"What kind of sham ideology is this? On the one hand, the Left parties are supporting the UPA Government, on the other their trade unions are making the lives of people miserable. If they have so much power, why can't they stop the operation of flights?" </b>fumed Barna Majumdar, a Government employee from Kolkata.
Overflowing dustbins and trash strewn on the streets was the order of the day while the autowallahs and the taxi drivers overcharged passengers arriving at the domestic terminal of IGI.
Passengers scrambled for trolleys that were in the custody of taxi drivers who demanded exorbitant rates. "A taxi driver asked for Rs 700 to go to Connaught Place. He even threatened that he was asking for the minimum and if we did not pay up, no one would take us," said Priyanka who had just arrived from Mumbai.
"Multinationals will come later. As of now, the trade unions have ensured that passengers are being held to ransom by taxi drivers," she added.
The agitating workers of AAI had blocked the Chambi Chowk at the departure wing of the airport. As a result, vehicles coming towards Terminal 1B were barred from entering the area and there was a massive traffic jam that stretched up to Dwarka.
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With the majority of the ground staff on strike, the authorities outsourced work to Sulabh International whose workers did the cleaning act. IGI Airport on Thursday looked like a fortress as hundreds of CISF, CRPF and Delhi Police personnel were roped in to tackle the situation.
The workers staged a dharna at Terminal 1B while the Employees Union of Centaur Hotel also joined the agitation.<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'> Leaders of Jawaharlal Nehru University Student's Union also joined the agitation during the day.</span>Â
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When we should expect train strike? Back to strike era of Congress.
Pioneer.com
Vijaita Singh / New Delhi
Chaos and filth ruled the roost at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here on Thursday as the Left-sponsored strike by Airports Authority of India workers entered its second day. The eventual casualties were passengers who had to stand in serpentine queues to get their baggage, cope with unclean toilets and get fleeced by autowallahs and taxi drivers.
<b>"What kind of sham ideology is this? On the one hand, the Left parties are supporting the UPA Government, on the other their trade unions are making the lives of people miserable. If they have so much power, why can't they stop the operation of flights?" </b>fumed Barna Majumdar, a Government employee from Kolkata.
Overflowing dustbins and trash strewn on the streets was the order of the day while the autowallahs and the taxi drivers overcharged passengers arriving at the domestic terminal of IGI.
Passengers scrambled for trolleys that were in the custody of taxi drivers who demanded exorbitant rates. "A taxi driver asked for Rs 700 to go to Connaught Place. He even threatened that he was asking for the minimum and if we did not pay up, no one would take us," said Priyanka who had just arrived from Mumbai.
"Multinationals will come later. As of now, the trade unions have ensured that passengers are being held to ransom by taxi drivers," she added.
The agitating workers of AAI had blocked the Chambi Chowk at the departure wing of the airport. As a result, vehicles coming towards Terminal 1B were barred from entering the area and there was a massive traffic jam that stretched up to Dwarka.
................
With the majority of the ground staff on strike, the authorities outsourced work to Sulabh International whose workers did the cleaning act. IGI Airport on Thursday looked like a fortress as hundreds of CISF, CRPF and Delhi Police personnel were roped in to tackle the situation.
The workers staged a dharna at Terminal 1B while the Employees Union of Centaur Hotel also joined the agitation.<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'> Leaders of Jawaharlal Nehru University Student's Union also joined the agitation during the day.</span>Â
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
When we should expect train strike? Back to strike era of Congress.