Delayed flights
Of late, the services of Indigo Airlines have been deteriorating. I have been using services of the airline since the last four years, flying between Mumbai and Goa every three months. Only on two occasions did I notice the flights leaving on time. Other than that, they have always left late and arrived late too. I have no choice of using other airlines landing at Dabolim in Goa, as their timings do not suit me. My most recent Indigo flight from Mumbai to Goa was scheduled to leave at 2.10 pm on December 1; it was delayed by two and half hours. Passengers were stranded for this length of period without even an apologetic announcement from the airline. When approached by passengers, the staff merely said they had not yet started boarding even after two hours of standing without giving any reason for delay. Indigo flights are creating chaotic scenes at airports due to delays. If you happen to visit Terminal 2 at Mumbai airport, the sight of Indigo passenger check-in counter is appalling. It’s a big ‘mess’.
Jerry Covaco, Assolna
Parking fees at Mopa
On December 3, hundreds of people were stuck at the Mopa airport because taxi drivers had blocked the main road. They were protesting, as the parking contractor was charging taxis and private vehicles that took more than two minutes to drop or pick up passengers. During off-peak hours, five minutes are allowed to drop/ pick up passengers. Vehicles exceeding two minutes are charged Rs 180, between seven and 12 minutes, Rs 338; and for more than 12 minutes, Rs 508 plus Rs 1,000 as penalty. Why these odd amounts? The charges are applicable between 1 pm and 3 pm and between 9 pm and 11 pm. Is the same time limit applicable to buses that cater to several passengers? If yes, then one can imagine the money made by the contractor, as drivers would take more time to drop/pick up the passengers. The rates amount to daylight fleecing by the contractor and the airport authorities are mum. A vehicle entering the airport takes more than two minutes to drive to the departure/arrival terminal and three to four minutes to drop/pick up passengers and drive to the exit. If the passengers have huge luggage, or are senior citizens, disabled, on wheel chair or pregnant, then it is impossible for a driver to enter and exit the airport within two minutes, especially during peak hours. If huge penalties are imposed, then there would be a race against time to save money, leading to accidents. Even if a driver makes it under two minutes, s/he may have to wait till the vehicles in the front are cleared and by the time the exit is neared two minutes would be crossed. Arguments and scuffles may ensue with the parking staff to prove that the driver had taken less than two minutes. It would be reasonable if five minutes (10 for buses) are permitted to the drivers, whether it is peak or off-peak time, after which nominal fines could be charged and not the present exorbitant ones. Anyway, no driver prefers to loiter in the parking lot once the passengers are dropped/picked.
Sridhar D Iyer, Caranzalem
Concretisation of roads
Mumbai’s municipal corporation (BMC) is on the rampage with its road concretisation drive, splurging thousands of crores of taxpayers’ money. Many scientists have warned that concrete roads could lead to aggravation in the ‘heat island’ effect and worsen the city’s environmental stress, it does not even need mentioning that air pollution is killing people in the city. In 1989, when the then municipal commissioner Sadashiv Tinaikar first initiated the road concretisation plan, only major arterial roads in Mumbai like Marine Drive were to be laid with cement concrete. Now, it has become a brazen money-making racket with the BMC concreting even small streets, alleys especially in the posh areas of Mumbai.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
Disappointing loss
What hurts is our loss against South Africa in the second One Day International (ODI) match on December 3 after scoring 358 with two excellent centuries by Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Deshpande. That our bowlers could not defend such a total is reflective of our innocuous pace attack where except for Arshdeep Singh, the other two were leaking runs. That our chief selector/manager duo of Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir continued with Harshit Rana is a disappointment, as he does not have the ability and class to play at the international level. Getting some wickets in matches here and there for him is a fluke and it is best that he is dropped from the squad. Prasidh is not getting the encouragement he deserves in the bowling attack and that may explain his indifferent performance on the day. One wonders where Akash Deep is, he could have made a difference. As for resting Bumrah and Siraj, for the former being injury-prone is a valid premise, but not in the case of Siraj. We should at all times try to put up our best eleven and aim for victory.
S Kamat, Mysuru
