Airports in NER helping society with series of schemes amid Coronavirus crisis

Right from the month of February, screening of all International passengers was started at Guwahati Airport, soon it was extended to all the domestic flights also at all the airports in the region.

100 percent thermal screening was carried out with the help of health officials and paramedics deployed by the state Governments in all the airports in NER. A dedicated thermal screening camera was installed at LGBI Airport Guwahati for mass screening and checking of passengers which helped team of doctors as well as convenient to passengers.

After the lockdown in the country, the commercial flight operations ceased from midnight of 24.03.2020 but airports were opened with minimum staff to run the emergency and essential services. All 12 airports in NER were opened for the same, however as per demand of the airlines and the directives of the Ministry the watch hours at the airports were extended.

“Airports Authority of India in NER was equally bothered for the frontline staffs dealing with the screening and segregation of the corona suspects and operations of the airport, so provided masks, gloves and kept sanitizers at all the places, point of contact and corners of  the airport. We later provided protective kits to the health workers and CISF personnel for their personal protection,” Sanjeev Jindal, Regional Executive Director, AAI said.

The lifeline UDAN portal was floated by the Government where cargo flights and routes were sketched to cater the domestic export of essential and emergency good especially medical goods for the farthest places in the country.

Some cargo hubs are created and ports are identified for ferrying these goods. NorthEast Region was given special focus in the life line UDAN routes and cargo flights constituting dedicated freighters and helicopters added many sorties to carry medical goods for the region.

A total of 90 tonnes of air cargo, till date has been deliverd to different NER stations and about 3 tonnes has been air lifted from these ports mainly Guwahati, Agartala, Imphal, Dibrugarh, Silchar, Jorhat, Tezpur and Dimapur. Rest of the places were connected through roads and helicopters.

Addressing the Press through online Video conference, Sanjeev Jindal said that, AAI as a responsible organization is worried for the professional in the forefront of the fight against CORONA, and to enable this, AAI at NER under its CSR scheme donated Rs 10 lakh to each of the state government through all the station in charges.

This fund will be utilized to procure PPEs, protective kits and equipment for  health workers and hospitals in the states. As these brave hearts are fighting with the unknown enemies, we are always with them and will continue to help in whatever manner we can, he added.

Also, the employees of AAI have contributed for the PM-CARE fund. A voluntary contribution of 5-day salary or minimum 3 days salary has been donated by the AAI employees to this crisis at personal level, and some of them have contributed their entire one month salary for this India’s fight against CORONA.

“We have ensured that no one goes hungry and minimum food and amenities are provided to labours living at the project sites of airport and to those living in and around the airport. I have identified 10 airports in the region where we will feed 500 families at each airport providing 5kg of rice to each family during this crisis’, informed Shri Jindal during this address to media. We are equally worried for the Anganwadi workers and will be contributing Rs 25 lakh for Manipur and Rs 20 lakh for Rani block in Assam with the help of UNDP-UNICEF. AAI in total has donated Rs 15 Crore under CSR funds and out of this Rs 3 Crore is from NER,” Jindal said.

Media fraternity is again a fore front in fight against Corona, and AAI at NER in association with the Press/ Media trusts/ clubs provided protective and personal hygiene kits for the journalist reporting from the ground on CORONA. The activity has been carried out at Guwahati Press Club and will be given at Agartala also. The dependents of Media fraternity will also be provided masks, protection kits and personal hygiene materials from AAI, if required as Press representative are one among our main stakeholders.

Similar help has also been planned for the police personnel who are far from home performing their duties for the society in Corona crisis. Rs 50 lakhs has been planned for the funds to be donated to all the state police in NER for procuring PPEs, Kits, mass etc.

The women welfare wing of AAI-Kalyanmayee is also helping the needy people. They are making masks from house hold cloth and preparing about 10,000 masks to be distributed almost free to the needy ones. 3,000 masks are already stocked and this has been prepared by the self-help groups. It has provided employment opportunity to the self-employed – helping groups and masks are made in hygienic manner.

Jindal said that, regarding, resumption of commercial flight services from April 15 the final decision is yet to be taken by the centre and by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, but our airports in NER are ready to cater all the services as per normal practice with all the precautions in place and sanitization of Airport premises including the passenger terminal building. Ample chemical sprays, hand sanitisers, masks are kept in place to deal with the on-going crisis of corona in the country.

(By Hemanta Kumar Nath, Guwahati)