Over 24,000 airport employees stage demo across country 24 Jan 2006 - UNI Mumbai: Thousands of airport employees today their comrades across the country in staging a staged a demonstration at the Chhatrapati Shivaji international airport here as part of nationwide protest against the Union government's proposed move to privatise Delhi and Mumbai airports.
Airport Authority Employees' Union (AAEU) Joint Secretary Nitin Jadhav said that over 24,000 members of the Union at 124 airports across the country staged demontrations for two hours between 1230 hrs and 1430 hrs to protest the move. He said that in the last fiscal year, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had earned the profit of Rs 550 crore and out of the total 124 airports, 22 were running in profit, including Mumbai and Delhi. He said the AAI was a competent authority to do the modernisation work and the AAEU had already submitted a detailed report pertaining to the mordernisation of the airports to the Union government. There has been no major investment either for Delhi or Mumbai airports-the country's busiest -- in past six years due to the proposed privatisation and reconstruction plan. The Central government wanted to sell the land of Mumbai and Delhi airports, which costs about Rs 35,000 crore each, to private parties at throwaway prices, he charged. The government has been under pressure from the Left parties to scrap the entire bidding process for upgradation of Delhi and Mumbai airports, insisting that the entire exercise should be handed over to the AAI.
