Portion Of Ceiling At Recently Inaugurated Port Blair Airport Collapses: Aviation Minister Reveals The Reason

Responding to a tweet by Jairam Ramesh, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia hit back at the Congress saying, 'instead of seeking sensationalism out of nothing, seek an explanation.'

Image: Twitter

Several videos of the false ceiling of the newly inaugurated terminal of the Veer Savarkar International Airport in Andaman & Nicobar, swinging in the air had gone viral on social media. Prime Minister Modi had inaugurated the newly built Veer Savarkar International Airport on July 18 in Port Blair. The videos show some panels of the airport roof swinging due to heavy winds. Various social media users and political parties, including Congress, mocked the government for inaugurating an unfinished airport. Now Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has revealed what exactly happened.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday hit back at the Congress saying, instead of jumping the gun and seeking sensationalism out of nothing, seek an explanation. He said that the portion of ceiling of the newly-constructed airport at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands that was swinging, was deliberately loosened for CCTV work. Also, winds at 100 kmph resulted in the loose panel to swing, but was later restored.

The structure is outside the terminal building. Besides, a part of the false ceiling had been deliberately loosened for CCTV work. Heavy winds (about 100 km/hr) later, led to the swinging panels as seen in the video. The false ceiling had been restored after completing the work.… https://t.co/DuLYjUIk0V

— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) July 24, 2023

Scindia took to Twitter and wrote, "The structure is outside the terminal building. Besides, a part of the false ceiling had been deliberately loosened for CCTV work. Heavy winds (about 100 km/hr) later, led to the swinging panels as seen in the video. The false ceiling had been restored after completing the work. Next time, instead of jumping the gun and seeking sensationalism out of nothing, just seek an explanation."

He was responding to a tweet by Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday. In his tweet, the Congress leader had taken a jibe at the Prime Minister saying, "The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) will inaugurate anything these days — even if it's unfinished or substandard infrastructure (highways, airports, bridges, trains, etc). More than willing ministers anxious to boost their Sensex with him obliged. It's the taxpayers and citizens who pay the cost. Such a sorry state of affairs in 'New India'."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new shell shaped terminal building of the Veer Savarkar Airport and wrote on Twitter, "The new integrated terminal building at Veer Savarkar International Airport, Port Blair, will ensure easier travel to Andaman and Nicobar islands. This will be a big boost for tourism in particular."