Delhi Int’l airport roof takes off in the rain
22 Aug 2009
New Delhi: Heavy rains on Friday not just brought the nation's capital to a halt but also reduced the Delhi International Airport Ltd's brand new domestic terminal 1D into a sorry mess, with 40 minutes of rain and strong winds ripping off its roof. The new terminal had been inaugurated earlier in the year.
Reports claimed there was almost knee-deep water at the boarding level with many parts of the ground floor inaccessible due to water logging. The arrival terminal was completely flooded.
At one point the terminal's condition became so critical that officials even considered shutting it down and shifting operations to 1A. DIAL COO Andrew Harrison claimed it was the mess was the result of "unprecedented rainfall.''
Ministry of civil aviation officials were reportedly livid and have apparently promised strict action against airport contractor GMR.
DIAL CEO Harrison said the contractor had been summoned and a review of the situation being undertaken. He said passengers were being provided with free refreshment and beverage facilities.
Passengers at the terminal reported that as the storm progressed, panels of the roof fell off and water gushed in. They also said boarding had to be stopped as that level was full of water. Bathroom drains, claimed another passenger, also began to overflow and X-ray machines had to be closed down and covered with plastic sheets.
