False roof collapses at new terminal

Several cranes had to be called in after a piece of the heavy steel structure near the airside came crashing down around 6 pm,sources said. DIAL officials,however,said the area in question was a construction site where work on removal of scaffolding is on with the help of large cranes.

“It is an under-construction site and not a passenger area. Scaffolding was being removed in the area between Terminal 1D and Udaan Bhawan. Large cranes are being used there due to the ongoing construction work,” a DIAL spokesperson said.

“It was a minor incident as no one was hurt. A piece of steel sheet of the false roof came down as some correction work was going on,” a senior CISF official said.

While no one was injured in the incident,sources said passengers throng the same area while leaving the boarding gate from T1D towards the air side.

The new terminal was opened for commercial operations last Sunday,and has been battling a plethora of problems since.

According to sources,the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has opened the premises under pressure even when a lot of work is still pending. Newsline reported on April 18 that much work still remained on ground zero. The exteriors need to be plastered and painted,the scaffolding is an eyesore,the road is still under construction and hundreds of labourers still crowd the building trying to wrap up work.

Despite being the first of its kind world-class facility in Delhi,Terminal 1D has been causing trouble to passengers instead of much-awaited relief. The Delhi Fire department has claimed that the DIAL had not acquired an NOC before launching the new building.

On the first day of commercial operations last Sunday,passengers complained of a lack of information from the airlines and the airport operator,which led to unwanted chaos. With the route to the domestic terminal changing completely,passengers coming to the airport for the first time faced numerous problems. The new route takes passengers directly to Terminal 1D even if their flight is scheduled to depart from 1B.