‘Security lax at Mumbai airport’
Activists write letters of complaint to authorities pointing out the dangers the area faces
Local residents living next to Mumbai international airport are peeved at security lapses in the face of terror threats and have written letters of complaint to various authorities.
The city has faced several terror attacks in the past, and local activists living in the gaothans (village/town settlement sites) adjacent to the airport say that after the 1992-1993 riots, arms landed via the coastal route at Dighi in Raigad district. During the March 12, 1993, serial Mumbai bomb blasts, a bomb was also thrown at Mumbai Airport in Sahar, which fortunately did not explode.
The activists, Nicholas Almeida and Godfrey Pimenta of Watchdog Foundation, say this can happen again, considering the unplanned development in the construction of Sahar Elevated Road, which is barely 10 metres away from 10 huge Aviation Turbine Fuel tanks (ATF). “The authorities have a Nelson’s eye to this subject though, during its construction, the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) had said that the road sides would be landscaped up to 1.5 metres and if required, visual barriers would be installed. It was also promised that as a longterm measure, the ATF tanks would be shifted to a more secure area inside the airport.”
With the elevated road open to vehicular traffic, “Our fear is that any object can be thrown at these tanks. Moreover, in the ATF complex of Indian Oil at Sahar near Sahar Police Station, a canteen meant for ATF complex staff is frequented by members of the public.
“This was brought to the notice of Sahar police and Senior commandant of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for the last seven years and no action has been taken. Any outsider can pose a major security risk.”
Their concerns have been raised in a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Mumbai Police Commissioner, CISF Commandant and other police officers.