Airports in Northeast helping society with a series of schemes amid CORONA crisis.
Guwahati: Airports in Northeast helping society proactively with all possible advanced measures with the focus area & action of Airports Authority of India at NorthEast region during the fight against COVID-19, and AAI is still practicing the set guidelines laid down by the Union Government, especially the Ministry of Health & Family welfare.
Right from February, screening of all International passengers were started at Guwahati Airport, soon it was extended to all the domestic flights also at all the airports in the region.
100 percent thermal screening was carried out with the help of health officials and paramedics deployed by the state Governments in all the airports in NER. A dedicated thermal screening camera was installed at LGBI Airport Guwahati for mass screening and checking of passengers which helped a team of doctors as well as convenient to passengers.
After the lockdown in the country, the commercial flight operations ceased from midnight of 24.03.2020 but airports were opened with minimum staff to run the emergency and essential services. All 12 airports in NE were opened for the same, however as per the demand of the airlines and the directives of the Ministry the watch hours at the airports were extended.
“Airports Authority of India in NE was equally bothered for the frontline staff dealing with the screening and segregation of the corona suspects and operations of the airport, so provided masks, gloves and kept sanitizers at all the places, point of contact and corners of the airport. We later provided protective kits to the health workers and CISF personnel for their protection,” Sanjeev Jindal, Regional Executive Director, AAI said.
The lifeline UDAN portal was floated by the Government were cargo flights and routes were sketched to cater to the domestic export of essential and emergency goods especially medical goods for the farthest places in the country.
Addressing the Press through online Video conference, Sanjeev Jindal said that, AAI as a responsible organization is worried for the professional in the forefront of the fight against CORONA, and to enable this, AAI at NER under its CSR scheme donated Rs 10 lakh to each of the state government through all the station in charges.
Also, the employees of AAI have contributed to the PM-CARE fund. A voluntary contribution of a 5-day salary or minimum 3 days salary has been donated by the AAI employees to this crisis at a personal level, and some of them have contributed their entire one month salary for this India’s fight against CORONA.
“We have ensured that no one goes hungry and minimum food and amenities are provided to laborers living at the project sites of the airport and to those living in and around the airport. I have identified 10 airports in the region where we will feed 500 families at each airport providing 5kg of rice to each family during this crisis’, informed Shri Jindal during this address to media. We are equally worried for the Anganwadi workers and will be contributing Rs 25 lakh for Manipur and Rs 20 lakh for Rani block in Assam with the help of UNDP-UNICEF. AAI in total has donated Rs 15 Crore under CSR funds and out of this Rs 3 Crore is from NER,” Jindal said.
Similar help has also been planned for the police personnel who are far from home performing their duties for the society in the Corona crisis. Rs 50 lakhs has been planned for the funds to be donated to all the state police in NE for procuring PPEs, Kits, mass, etc.
The women welfare wing of AAI-Kalyanmayee is also helping the needy people. They are making masks from household cloth and preparing about 10,000 masks to be distributed almost free to the needy ones. 3,000 masks are already stocked and this has been prepared by the self-help groups. It has provided employment opportunities to the self-employed – helping groups and masks are made hygienically.
