28 July,2011 07:39 AM IST | | Bipin Kumar Singh
It's been six months since he was appointed Civil Aviation Minister, but Vayalar Ravi still hasn't met the special economic advisory committee to discuss the pending matter of appointing an ombudsman
The decision to appoint an ombudsman to monitor matters for the the ailing Aviation industry was taken six months ago, during the tenure of former Aviation Minister Praful Patel. However, the decision was never implemented.
To add insult tou00a0 injury, the minister Vayalar Ravi hasn't met the Civil Aviation economic advisory committee (CAEAC) even once in the last six months, since he assumed office, to discuss the appointment.
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The meeting for sanctioning the appointment of an ombudsman chaired by Patel in January 2011. Since then, no meeting has taken place between the special committee and Ravi.
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The CAEAC members blamed the incumbent minister's apathy for the delay, alleging that no concrete steps had been taken since Ravi's appointment in the direction of appointing the ombudsman.
"This minister has done nothing for the redressal of passenger grievances, since his appointment six months ago.
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The only thing he seems to be worried about is the financial strengthening of Air India and management of funds," said Sudhkar Reddy, president of Air Passengers' Association of India (APAI).
Reddy is also a member of the core group of the working committee of the Civil Aviation Ministry, which has been asked to appoint an ombudsman.
He added, "This is a serious problem. If necessary, we will take the issue to the Group of Ministers (GoM) and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO)."
Milan Zatakia of Millenium Aerodynamics, who is alsou00a0 a member of the CAEAC, said, "The CAEAC's last meeting with the minister took place in January. No meeting had been held since then.
Even as a member of the CAEAC, I have not heard of any decision regarding the appointment of an ombudsman till date."
The Other Side
In spite of repeated attempts, Vayalar Ravi could not be reached for comment.
Narrow escape for 202 passengers aboard flight A major mishap was averted at the Mumbai International Airport last evening when a pilot made an emergency landing owing to a technical snag.
The Dubai-bound Emirates flight EK 507 that took off at 3.35 pm yesterday had to return to the tarmac within 23 minutes of take-off when the pilot asked for an emergency landing from the Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC).
An ATC official said, "The flight that earlier left for Dubai requested for an emergency landing permission. The fire brigade and security agencies were alerted."
An airport spokesperson confirmed the same and added that all 202 passengers and cabin crew were evacuated safely.
According to sources, the emergency landing was because of a suspected oil leak.
The Other Side
A spokesperson of Emirates said, "Emirates flight EK 507 returned to Mumbai airport shortly after take-off due to a technical issue. The Airbus-330 landed at the Mumbai airport without incident shortly after its initial departure."
