More lax security at Calcutta
20 / 01 / 2009
NEW evidence has come to light concerning the lax security at Calcutta (Kolkata) airport.
Following the brawl between employees over new regulations forcing employees to have valid, up-to-date identification cards comes news that as many as 70 contract staff enter the airport’s cargo sections everyday using a copy of a single entry pass.
“Normally one pass is issued against any one person, but in case of the contract staff, who mainly work in offloading goods, 30 people are allowed against one pass”, secretary of the Airport Authorities Employees Union Dipankar Ghosh said.
“All the contract staff have one copy of the original with all the 30 names written on the back side of the pass. This is a serious breach of security and anyone can enter the main airport area using this cargo pass.”
When asked about it, all the security manager of the airport, Prafulla Sinha, has to say was: “I have not heard of such a thing. It is not my fault if many people are entering the cargo section with one pass. The pass is issued by someone else not me.”
In addition, security at the three open entry gates is alleged to be minimal, there are no metal detectors to check entrants and there is little police presence to guard the buffer zone to the neighbouring jungle.
