Mar 24, 2008 11:04 AM
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The Airport Authority of India has restricted to the use of Tamil in airports across Tamil Nadu. This is due to the fact the communication gap being faced by the Hindi-speaking security staff. The local Tamils are also compelled to talk only in Hindi.
All local persons requiring employment at Chennai and other Tamil Nadu airports will need to clear Hindi proficiency exams.
It should be noted that in 1998 DMK issued statements mandating the use of Tamil. In 2006, the pre-election manifesto of the DMK of Tamil annoucements. However the removal of Tamil annoucements in Chennai domestic airport coupled with mandating Hindi and preference to Hindi-speaker for airport jobs leaves the local public unhappy.
There is also perception of neglect of Tamil Nadu airports by A.A.I. Salem airport in central Tamil Nadu was built at a cost of 15 crores but has never seen flights. Ironically the present shutdown of the Chennai airport had nothing to do with the bad aviation situation in Tamil Nadu, but rather the problems elsewhere in Bangalore and Hyderabad.
In southern reqions of Yervadi, Naanguneri, Karaikal, from where there are large labourers in both the Gulf and Southest Asia people have to travel all the way to Sri Lanka, Madras or Kerala to board flights.
Tamil Nadu government also promotes Hosur with a picture of an airport 45 km away in Bangalore, which will now increase to more than 100km. It is a matter of time whether TamilNadu realizes the necessity of an airport to cover the industrialized Dharmapuri region instead of depending on Karnataka to serve the region.
With the present control of TN airports on the hands of Airport Authority of India(A.A.I.), there is diminished hope of TN aviation going any further. With the ban of the Tamil language in Chennai and other domestic airport within Tamilnadu and Hindi being condition for employment, one can see that the pre-election campaign of Tamil annoucements and the later airport proposals are mere publicity campaigns. It is a matter of time whether the state forms its aviation agency(similar to something mooted in Karnataka).
