Fine goes up in smoke at BIA

Fine goes up in smoke at BIA

Airline employees, passengers, chauffeurs — they’re united in their choice of BIA as a smoker’s haunt, the law be damned. And the airport management would have us believe not a single violation has been reported in the last five months!

Atul Chaturvedi
Posted On Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Gandhi Jayanti this year saw the coming into force of the Centre’s law banning smoking in public places. That has left hard-core nicotine lovers with hardly any ‘outlet’, barring the privacy of their homes. But those who are still determined to cock a snook at the law can try out the new Devanahalli airport, 45 km from the city. Nine times out of ten, they may even get away with it, as everyone, from passengers to officials, seems to turn a blind eye to the violation of the no-smoking rule.

We wanted to check out the ‘liberal’ image of BIA for ourselves. So our reporter lit up — with some friendly help from airline employees who were themselves enjoying their puff at the time. We took a ‘chukker’ of the premises but were not questioned at any point. This, despite boards prominently displaying the ‘no-smoking’ sign.

A telephone number — 080-66782258 — is listed for anyone wanting to make a complaint about smoking in the airport premises. But it’s probably treated with the same derision as the ban itself. “Why should I call this number and complain about others smoking? I can smoke here freely, and if I complain I will be shutting the door on myself,” said Naresh, a frequent flyer between Delhi and Bangalore.

Smoking zone!

We found we had plenty of company. Not only were airline and travel agency employees lighting up nonchalantly, several flyers and drivers who had come to drop passengers were at it too. So much so that the no-smoking zone of the terminal building was more akin to a smoking zone!

When we called the listed number to find out how many persons had been fined for smoking since May 23, the day the airport started functioning, the voice at the other end asked us to provide the names of the ‘culprits’. When we said we had seen airline employees and passengers smoking, the voice said, “If you can identify the company logo on their uniforms, necessary action will be taken against them.” Some pro-active officialdom, that!

Call for crusade

According to Madan Gopal M, secretary in the health and family welfare department, the Central ban on smoking is a ‘self-regulatory’ one. “Karnataka has already set the ball rolling, with government and private offices obliged to put up notices with the contact numbers of officials responsible for collecting fines from anyone found smoking,” he told Bangalore Mirror.

“I am a non-smoker and I think everyone should be like that. And it’s the duty of non-smokers to complain about those who violate the rule,” he said, adding, “It’s the responsibility of the Airport Authority to implement the orders in its premises. The terminal manager is responsible for collecting fines from the offenders.”

No cases booked!

Interestingly, not a single case has been booked since BIA started functioning five months ago. This, despite trilingual notices (Kannada, Hindi and English) prohibiting smoking that are put up at prominent spots in the terminal and in the visitors’ area. Adding to our sense of disbelief, BIA officials claimed, “Our enforcement officers regularly monitor the airport premises. There has not been a single case of a violation of the law till date.”