Jet Airways cabin crew most harassed by flyers

February 8, 2014

Jet_AirwaysMumbai, Feb 8: Temper tantrums, drunken rants, physical and verbal abuse: these are some of the occupational hazards that female cabin crew face in airplanes. Jet Airways recorded 84 incidents of passengers behaving indecently with airhostesses, while Indigo recorded 48, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in reply to a query in the Lok Sabha this month. The national carrier recorded a considerably lower number 19 incidents.

The aviation ministry said these are the cases that have come to the notice of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and that the airlines have taken suitable action on them.

Private carrier Spicejet, which began operations in 2005 has recorded six such incidents. A spokesperson for the airline said it has a very strict policy in dealing with such incidents. "Any misbehaviour of any sort against our crew will not be tolerated and the flier is offloaded," she said.

"The cabin crew is told to report such incidents to the pilot immediately and alert the manager as soon as the flight lands."

The spokesperson referred to an incident in 2010 when members of a football team from Goa were offloaded at the Mumbai airport for such misbehaviour. The two players and a goal keeper for Churchill Brothers were on their way from Goa to Kolkata via Mumbai for their I-League game against Mohun Bagan on January 5, 2010. They were offloaded from SpiceJet flight SG 804. The trio was arrested by the police after the airhostess filed a complaint of molestation against them. They were eventually let off on bail.

Such behaviour, however, is not restricted to passengers. Two cases of indecent behaviour by pilots have been reported to the DGCA. On March 2 last year, a pilot from Air India misbehaved with a crew member in the cockpit while operating a flight from Delhi to Kolkata. The airhostess reported the case to the Delhi police and the airline has kept the erring pilot off flying duties till date. In another instance, a Spicejet pilot was suspended by the DGCA and his services terminated by the airline after he misbehaved with a female cabin crew member in the cockpit of a Delhi Bengaluru flight on September 3, 2010.

However, a former airhostess said not all such incidents are taken seriously. "I have experienced several such incidents over the years and no action was ever taken. In 2010, a passenger who misbehaved not only with me but also with two other passengers got away scot free. Despite pursuing the matter to the highest level, there was not even an acknowledgement of the incident," the woman said.

DGCA sources said some of the incidents were often minor. "Cabin crew often end up reporting situations where aircraft held up in queue for takeoff, that lead to unpleasant exchanges with passengers who want to use the washroom," a senior DGCA official said.

Sources also said that "action" as mentioned in the ministry's reply may not necessarily mean police action. "Not all the complaints are taken forward by the airlines. In several cases, all that is done is that the passenger is off loaded and handed over to the CISF. The airlines may not have the inclination to pursue the matter with the police due to lack of time," an aviation source said.

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Agencies
May 19,2020

Lucknow, May 19: The administration of the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) has ordered a probe into the cardiac procedure conducted on a corona positive patient in the hospital.

The patient underwent a cardiac procedure without being tested for corona before the surgery. He later tested positive for COVID-19, leading to panic among the staff and other patients.

The medical staff that came in contact with the patient were quarantined on Monday while the area was sanitized.

As per orders from the State Medical Education Department, even in emergency cases, patients are to be screened for Covid-19 before procedures are done.

According to the SGPGI administration, the incident took place late on Sunday night.

In an official statement, director, Prof R.K. Dhiman said, "The 63-year-old patient was a case of complete cardiac blockage and needed an urgent temporary pacemaker. The patient was admitted to the holding area of the institute and later shifted to the MICU for permanent pace making."

He said that when the patient's corona status was found to be positive on the Hospital Information System, she was shifted to the Rajdhani COVID Hospital.

The Director said, "Though the involved areas have been sanitized and healthcare workers were quarantined as per protocol, a probe has been ordered to investigate the lapses."

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News Network
June 22,2020

New Delhi, June 22: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be “mindful of the implication of his words” as a controversy raged over his “no intrusion” remark about the violent face-off with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley.

“The Prime Minister must always be mindful of the implications of his words and declarations on our Nation’s security as also strategic and territorial interests,” Singh said in a statement here as Chinese media welcomed Modi’s ‘no intrusion’  remarks contending that it may lead to a de-escalation of tensions between China and India.

Congress has been maintaining that Modi’s assertions at Friday’s all-party meeting that neither was there any intrusion nor was any Indian post captured ran counter to the statements made by the Indian Army and the External Affairs Ministry.

Singh said the prime minister cannot allow his words to be used by China as a vindication of its position and all organs of the government should work together to tackle this crisis and prevent it from escalating further.

“We remind the Government that disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy or decisive leadership. The truth cannot be suppressed by having pliant allies spout comforting but false statements,” the former prime minister said.

Singh said the prime minister and the government should rise to the occasion to ensure justice for Colonel B Santosh and the army jawans who made the supreme sacrifice and resolutely defended the nation’s territorial integrity.

“To do any less would be a historic betrayal of the people’s faith,” the former prime minister said.

“At this moment, we stand at historic crossroads. Our Government’s decisions and actions will have serious bearings on how the future generations perceive us,” Singh said.

Singh said China was brazenly and illegally seeking to claim parts of Indian territory such as the Galwan Valley and the Pangong Tso Lake by committing multiple incursions between April 2020 till date.  

“We cannot and will not be cowed down by threats and intimidation nor permit a compromise with our territorial integrity,” said Singh. 

The former prime minister said this was a moment where “we must stand together as a nation and be united in our response to this brazen threat.”

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News Network
February 9,2020

New Delhi, Feb 8: Arvind Kejriwal is set to return as Delhi chief minister and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will virtually sweep the assembly elections, exit polls predicted Saturday.

As polling came to a close at 6 pm, with the Election Commission of India (ECI) projecting a voter turnout at 60.24% (as of 9:50 pm), a poll of polls covering 10 exit polls gave 52 seats to AAP, 17 to the Bharatiya Janata Party and one to the Indian National Congress.

The polls, which are sample surveys conducted among voters exiting polling booths, signalled that the Delhi voter responded to AAP’s campaign that focused on “kaam”, or getting work done.

Kejriwal, a former civil servant and activist who stormed into electoral politics with an anti-corruption campaign in 2013, led a campaign focusing on the development work his government did in Delhi, especially in education and healthcare, as well as sops such as lower electricity bills and free bus rides for women.

The exit polls gave AAP between 47 and 68 seats in the 70-member Assembly.

They predicted an absolute rout for Congress, which ruled Delhi for three terms between 1998 and 2013. The maximum seats to AAP were given by India Today TV-Axis exit poll, which predicted 59-68 seats for the party, while giving 2-11 for the BJP and none to the Congress.

If these figures hold, the results will come as a disappointment for the BJP, which had hoped its sweep in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 would reflect in the assembly polls.

Delhi’s voter turnout saw a sharp fall over the 2015 elections. According to the Election Commission of India, voter turnout till 9 pm was projected at 60.24% — lower than 67.12% in 2015.

Traditionally, a lower voter turnout is read as a vote for the incumbent.

The voter turnout in Delhi has been similar during the Congress regime under Sheila Dikshit, when she won consecutive terms. In 2003, when Delhi voted a second time for the Dikshit government, the voter turnout was 53.42%, and a comparable 57.58% was the turnout in 2008.

Later, in two consecutive elections — 2013 and 2015 — voters turned out in big numbers to vote Dikshit out of power. In 2013, 65.63% of Delhi turned out and the percentage increased further to 67.12% in 2015.

Across constituencies, Matia Mahal in Central Delhi registered the highest voter turnout of 68.36%, whereas Bawana assembly constituency in North district saw the lowest turnout at 41.95%. Among districts, North East district registered the highest (62.75%) voter turnout, while the lowest turnout was recorded in South East district (54.15%), according to the ECI app.

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