All airport operators to conduct third party audit of structural stability of buildings
New Delhi (PTI): The government on Monday said all airport operators have been directed to carry out a third party audit of structural stability of airport buildings and associated infrastructure.
Besides, they will conduct a thorough evaluation of all civil, electrical and technical aspects of the buildings before the onset of monsoon every year.
The directives came in the wake of roof collapse incidents at three airports last month.
During heavy rain, forecourt canopy collapsed at Terminal 1D of the Delhi airport on June 28. Also, the kerb area canopy made of tensile fabric, a non-structural element, was damaged at Jabalpur and Rajkot airports on June 27 and 29, respectively.
In 2023-24, an amount of Rs 795.72 crore has been spent on Repair and Maintenance (R&M) works at 121 airports of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), as per official data submitted to the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu told the Upper House that the ministry has constituted a high-level expert committee consisting of structural engineers from IIT Delhi to assess the incident at the Delhi airport and submit its report.
"Further, all the airport operators have been directed to carry out a third party audit of structural stability of airport buildings and associated infrastructures through a reputed government institution/body such as IITs, NITs, CBRI, EIL etc.
"All the airport operators have also been directed to carry out a thorough evaluation of all civil, electrical and technical aspects of the building, including the design, specifications and workmanship of the roof sheeting structure before the onset of monsoon every year," the minister said in a written reply.
Aviation regulator DGCA carries out regular audits in the form of surveillance inspections/spot inspections to ensure compliance to these standards.
In a separate written reply, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said the Airports Authority of India has initiated investigations to determine the root cause of incidents at Jabalpur and Rajkot airports.
Barring the Covid years, expenditure on Repair and Maintenance (R&M) activities in absolute terms at the airports has increased, Mohol said in another written reply while providing expenditure details for R&M activities at AAI airports.
"Expenditure on repair and maintenance as a percentage of revenue is not an appropriate metric to assess movement of the expenditure over a period of time since revenue can increase owing to various factors which have no bearing on the R&M expenses.
"... alternatively, R&M expenses can also increase due to various factors (i.e. life of the assets, normal wear & tear, annual maintenance contract/ comprehensive maintenance contract costs charged by vendors etc) which may not affect revenue," the minister said.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
