chennai - Central News Hub

Long wait for Covid-19 test brings misery for Int’l flyers at Chennai airport

The passenger also alleged that the room where the passengers are made to stand in queue is a tiny one where no Covid protocols are followed….reports Asian Lite News

International travellers from Europe, the US and the Middle East, who are landing at the Chennai international airport, have to wait for hours in long queues to get their swab samples tested.

Even for passengers who are reaching the country after taking two doses of vaccine are not exempted from swab test in Chennai. The passengers complain that they have to stand in two queues, one to make the payment and the second for the swab sample.

Mohammed Aslam, a passenger who reached Chennai on Tuesday from Europe, told IANS, “I had to wait for more than two hours in the queue. One queue is to make payment for RT-PCR test and the second one is for giving the swab.”

The passenger also alleged that the room where the passengers are made to stand in queue is a tiny one where no Covid protocols are followed.

At the Chennai international airport, at least five flights are arriving daily from abroad, leading to large queues.

Swab test done by the Chennai Corporation as there is a gradual increase in the COVID positive cases in Tamilnadu

While other airports like in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi have adequate space, the Chennai airport does not have proper space for the passengers to stand in queue.

Basheer from the air travel agents’ association told IANS, “The solution is to increase the number of counters. While there are four counters at the Chennai airport, these are not enough to cater to the large flow of passengers to the airport. The number of passengers arriving from Europe is also more and hence the queues are also long. We got information that the Airport Authority of India will take effective measures to solve the issue.”

Officials in the Airport Authority of India (AAI) said that there are around 20 staff members who collect swab samples from the passengers. The officials, however, said that crowd control is in place and that the department would look into the complaints, if any.

The AAI is also planning to increase the number of counters at the airport to ensure smooth exit for the passengers.

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ICG on alert as Portuguese ship spills oil 450 km off Chennai

The Coast Guard said that it had received information from the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Colombo late on Wednesday about a mid sea oil spill about 450 km southeast of Chennai…reports Asian Lite News.

The Indian Coast Guard said on Thursday that 10 kilolitres (KL) of oil have spilled into the sea about 450 km southeast of Chennai from a Portuguese flag container ship named MV Devon.

The vessel was on passage from Colombo to Haldia in West Bengal, carrying 10,795 tonnes of general cargo in 382 containers, manned by 17 crew of mixed nationality.

The Coast Guard said that it had received information from the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Colombo late on Wednesday about a mid sea oil spill about 450 km southeast of Chennai.

“The ICG is in continuous contact with MV Devon and the master has reported that the vessel is stable. ICG pollution response team at Chennai has been alerted and kept on standby. In addition, ICG ships and aircraft deployed at sea are also put on alert in pollution response configuration,” the ministry of defence said.
On investigation, it was found that MV Devon had developed an underwater crack on the left side of the fuel tank containing about 120 KL of Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO).

The crack resulted in spillage of about 10 KL of oil into the sea before preventive action was taken and the remaining oil in the tank was transferred to another tank by the ship’s crew.

The container carrier is expected to reach Haldia on Friday and as per the ship’s master, the vessel is stable, the Coast Guard said.

ICG saves crew of sinking ship In a daredevil operation, the Indian Coast Guard rescued 16 crew members of a sinking cargo ship near the Revdanda jetty off Maharashtra’s Raigad district, an ICG spokesperson said here.

The incident happened in the early hours when Indian-flagged M.V. Mangalam’s second officer intimated that the ship, with 16 on board, had partially sunk around 3 kms off the Revdanda jetty in the stormy Arabian Sea.

In view of the distress and with water ingress panicking the crew, the ship captain was even planning to abandon the vessel, the ICG was told.

Gauging the seriousness of the situation, the ICG’s MRCC team calmed down the alarmed captain and crew and asked them to remain on board as help was being deployed.

ICG Subhadra Kumari Chauhan immediately set sail from Dighi Port towards the sinking vessel, while two ICG helicopters took from Daman for the evacuation operation.

The ship reached the vicinity of M.V. Mangalam by 10.15 a.m. as challenging weather conditions prevailed, but it sent rescue boats to pick up the crew.

Around that time, the two helicopters also arrived and started winching up the crew of vessel, saving all 16, and flew them to Revdanda for medical aid, said the ICG spokesperson.

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