Toilet-cum-childcare room at Srinagar airport; Minister directs AAI to look into matter

Twitter/@Kaul_Avinash

Srinagar: Junior Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha on Monday directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to look into the allegations of a toilet being converted into a childcare room at the Srinagar airport.

Sinha asked the AAI to follow up on the complaint by a person named Avinash Kaul, who posted about the matter on Twitter on Sunday and tagged the Union minister.

"@AAI_Official This is to bring to your notice the pathetic state of child care rooms at Srinagar and Jammu airports, the rooms are smelly, filthy and in Srinagar, a toilet has been converted to a childcare room. They are more of health hazards. @jayantsinha @sureshpprabhu," Kaul said.

Kaul said there was no proper service despite all the airlines charging nearly Rs 1500 for infants. "I would like the authorities to take appropriate action and construct proper child care rooms at both the airports and also other places lacking these facilities."

Posting a picture of the room, Kaul added, "This toilet cum child care room stinks, one can't expose a small child to such filth, germs and health risk, child care rooms should have a toilet attached not that a toilet is converted to childcare room."

Commenting on the issue, airport director Akash Deep Mathur said a separate childcare room would be in place in a month's time.

"I took over two months back or so and we have already realised (this). I am bringing up a new childcare room on the first floor only which will have the right size and facilities. The process has been set in motion and tendering has been done. So, we are already on it and in a month's time, hopefully, it should be in place," Mathur told PTI.