Is the airport really safe?

Locals claim that police personnel do not patrol the areas around the Mumbai airport stringently, and when they do, they can be seen sitting around chatting

Is the airport really safe?

Locals claim that police personnel do not patrol the areas around the Mumbai airport stringently, and when they do, they can be seen sitting around chatting

This is part of MiD DAY's month-long audit of experiences of travelling in and out of the city, where we take up people's issues and place them before the authorities to address.

Mumbai airport may be on the radar of terror groups, but the security arrangements on the periphery tell a different story altogether.

A MiD DAY reporter along with a photographer visited areas surrounding the airport to take in what security arrangements have been implemented.

Keeping an eye on the airport from a vantage point in a slum adjacent to the runway is a serious security threat. The lack of patrolling is a cause for worry

A walk through the narrow lanes of Jhari Mari area of Kurla subsequently led to Jhari Mari Dargah situated on the hillock, the only vantage point from where the entire airport can be viewed without obstruction.

Though devotees throng the Dargah on particular days, a surprising fact is that devotees are not the only visitors to the place.

When we asked a few people why they were at the Dargah, most answers were similar. One local resident said, "Sir,u00a0 saamne se plane dekhkar time pass ho jaata hai."

After talking to the locals it was learned that policemen regularly visit the dargah, but instead of keeping a watch over the airport, they sit around chatting.

During the two hours that the MiD DAY team spent at the place, not a single policeman was seen.

On returning from the hillock, the duo checked a watchtower at the corner of the airport and discovered that there were no security personnel posted there.u00a0

A further two-km walk in hopes of meeting and interviewing a policeman on duty was futile, since there were none to be seen.

Official speak

Senior Commandant, CISF, Jitender Negi, said, "As far as the security inside the airport premises is concerned, there is nothing lacking, but the area outside the boundary wall including the Masjid is the jurisdiction of the local police, and we cannot do anything about it."

However, DCP (Zone X) Prakash Mutiyal, said, "Beat marshals patrol the area regularly, but I'm not sure if there is any permanent deployment there.
u00a0
We are in touch with the locals and they inform us about every movement in the area." A large area consisting of slums surrounds Mumbai airport, and these slums are situated just outside the boundary wall, from where movement within the airport is clearly visible.

Hawk's eye
In April, 2010, Mumbai airport was put under a heavy security blanket following an unconfirmed terror threat received by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the Delhi Police and other intelligence agencies. On occasions, due to hoax calls, flights have been delayed and a state of emergency declared at the Mumbai airport.

Reader feedback

Ruby Singh from Malad said, "I have been to Bandra Terminus several times and the station premises are perpetually dirty.u00a0 I have never seen anyone cleaning the place. Besides the unclean terminus, taxi drivers keep causing problems by demanding unbelievable fares from travellers."

Anant Kumar, who regularly travels to Uttar Pradesh, said, "I mostly board a train from Kurla Terminus or CST and have noticed rats and garbage littering the place. The railway should take necessary steps to clean these platforms since lakhs of people use this station every single day."

So far in the campaign...

Up in the air

To kickstart the campaign, MiD DAY aired passenger complaints regarding airlines misplacing, mishandling and damaging their luggage.u00a0

Following up on fleecing cabbies at the airport, we found that t ingenious cheats still manage to trap the odd gullible passenger.

We reported on how smartly-dressed touts sporting fake uniforms of reputed hotels take tourists for a ride at the airport.

Down by the tracks

Urinals at railway stations on the central and western lines are a breeding grounds for diseases

Paan-stained, filthy stations

Taking the road less travelled

MiD DAY took a bone shattering ride alongside regular passengers of MSRTC buses only to find that, barring a few exceptions, they continue to be as rickety as ever

MiD DAY found that passengers coming into the city by train are left to the mercy of the auto and taxi mafia outside stations whou00a0 quote ridiculous fares

Despite paying a hefty toll at the various toll nakas to exit and enter the city, all motorists get are pot-holed roads, no street lights and a virtual death trap at night

Writeu00a0To Us
Are security measures lax at the airport? Write in with your thoughts and stories at inandout@mid-day.com