Akhilesh targets BJP over removal of police chief in UP
LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused the Adityanath government of lowering the morale of the Uttar Pradesh police by removing its chief Mukul Goel.
Goel was, on May 11, removed from the post of Director General of Police on charge of inefficiency and neglecting his work and appointed as Director General (DG) of the Civil Defence department.
Later DS Chauhan was made acting DGP of the state.
“Removing the DGP of Uttar Pradesh on the allegation that he used to disregard government work, did not take interest in departmental work and was inefficient is a very childish excuse. It has lowered the morale of the police force, Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi.
He asked whether Mukul Goel’s eligibility was not checked properly at the time of his appointment.
NEW DELHI: A total of 84 people working at 42 Indian airports were found drunk on duty between January 2021 and March 2022, as per the data of the aviation regulator DGCA.
Fifty four (64 per cent) of the 84 workers who failed the mandatory alcohol tests were drivers, stated the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s data.
While many of the workers who failed the alcohol tests were employed by airport operators, a significant section of them were employed by other companies like the catering companies, ground handling companies, aircraft maintenance companies, etc which work at the airport.
56 workers at 35 Airports Authority of India (Aai)-run airports, 17 workers at four Adani Group-run airports, nine workers at two GMR group-run airports and two workers at Fairfax Indiarun Bengaluru airport failed the alcohol tests between January 2021 and March 2022, as per the DGCA data.
However, Bengaluru airport’s operator BIAL clarified that the two workers who failed the alcohol tests were not its employees. “Bengaluru airport (BIAL) has not had any instances of its employees failing the breath analyser test in 2021, and so far this year,” it said.
When asked about the aforementioned DGCA data of 56 workers failing the alcohol tests, the Centre-run AAI data stated that only 18 workers at 14 Aai-run airports failed the alcohol tests between January 2021 and March 2022.
“Out of 18 workers who failed the BA (breathalyzer) test, three were from the AAI and remaining 15 were from AAI contracting agencies,” AAI added.
On the question of what action was taken against the workers who were found drunk, the AAI said, “Appropriate action as per the prevailing guidelines has been initiated.”
The airport where the highest number of workers (nine workers) failed the alcohol tests between January 2021 and March 2022 was the Mumbai airport, which has been under control of the Adani Group since July last year. Before July 2021, the Mumbai airport was under the control of the GVK Group.
The GMR group-run Delhi airport was at number two with eight workers failing the alcohol tests in the aforementioned 15-month-period.
Aviation regulator DGCA had in September 2019 issued rules for BA test for all airport workers. As per the rules, the airport operator concerned (such as AAI, DIAL, MIAL, BIAL, etc) has to regularly conduct these random alcohol tests on not just its own employees, but staff of other companies who work at the airport.
As per the rules, at least 10 per cent of the personnel of each such company must be randomly subjected to BA test. If any personnel is tested positive for alcohol for the first time, or refuses to undergo the test, or attempts to evade it by leaving the airport premises, then he or she must be kept “off duty and their license/approval shall be suspended for three months”, the rules noted.