Chennai: Next time you are at the Chennai airport look up frequently as part of your security. It may help you escape from falling glass sheets and sections of false ceiling.
The airport, which was renovated in 2012, recently witnessed the 66th incident of a glass panel falling off. A glass panel fell from 20 feet high at a corridor between the old and new terminals. Airport officials said that nobody was injured.
However, such incidents has prompted the National Human Rights Commission to seek an explanation from airport officials and Civil Aviation Ministry.
The airport was upgraded four years ago for a cost 22 billion rupees. However, glass panels and sections of the false ceiling have collapsed with bizarre frequency at the domestic and international terminals, reports ndtv.com.
The human rights commission has been informed that the airport’s structural design is not defective, but that the glass used in the modernized terminal is “impure.” In last night’s case, the glass sheet broke under the impact of renovation work being carried out nearby, said Airport Director Deepak Sastri.
The Airports Authority of India, tasked with maintaining terminals, has been given a 3.5 million rupee contract in Chennai to assess the condition of the glass panels that are the prevailing design element of the terminal and replace sections that are found infirm with sturdier sheets.
In 2014, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju ordered a surprise check of the airport; the result was an F on pretty much all fronts. Bathrooms and the food court were filthy, windows were broken and several members of parliament complained poor baggage-handling and other facilities.
A survey in 2015 found the Chennai airport the 7th worst in Asia.