GUWAHATI: In an unprecedented yet embarrassing state of affairs for a facility reckoned to be “international, rainwater spurted from the roof of a newly-constructed passenger lounge of the LGBI Airport at Borjhar during the course of a heavy shower on Monday night.
Visuals (believed to be recorded by people at the airport) of streams of water gushing through the air-conditioning vents and edges of the ceiling lights over the baggage screening area of the airport went viral on social media, prompting criticism at the state of affairs in an “international airport.”
When asked about the incident, airport director, P.K. Tailong said that an overhead drain that lay in the “junction” between the old and the new building could not retain the high volume of rainwater and caused the spill around 8.45pm on Monday.
“The canopy of the new building was recently merged with the old building and the overhead drain located in between could not retain the rainwater. However, the seepage has been attended to immediately. I was there and our civil engineers are on the repair and rectification job,” Tailong told The Shillong Times on Tuesday. Areas close to the airport were flooded after the heavy rain spanning about an hour, sources said.
The airport currently handles around 3.8 million passengers annually.
The Centre had earlier this year sanctioned Rs 1,383 crore for expansion and upgrade of the integrated terminal building of Guwahati airport.
The new terminal, according to official reports, will have an area of 1,02,500 sq metres to handle a combined annual capacity (old and new terminals) of nine million passengers per annum.
