When AV spoke to Santosh Rohra he said, “If they can’t take care of the products being sold inside the premises, it is just an incident due to negligence of the authority. It is shameful that Airport Authority of India (AAI) failed to appoint trusted vendors and allowed them to sell contaminated water despite charging 5-10 times more than the actual value. Since, I didn’t board the plane, I missed an important client meet in Chennai and my business incurred heavy losses.”
Champaklal, Medical Officer, Mumbai Airport said, “Mr Santosh had bought a bottle of water from an outlet located inside the airport premises. When he started drinking, he realised that the water is impure, also sensed a smell of chemical into it and he didn’t consume it. Such contaminated water can cause severe health hazards. He has taken a right step to raise his voice.”
Kiran Pawaskar, NCP MLA and President All India Aviation Employees Association said, “The airport’s privatisation has happened and private tender was passed. The union is headed by MNS and they are looking after the functioning of 83 shops. GVK charges rent from the airport for running the shops. Already airport is levying heavy development charge on passengers as they have to pay lump sum money as parking charges for vehicles. FDA must take action against the packaged water company. If a passenger is unable to board the aircraft then it is unjustified.”
Shrikant Kant, Police Inspector, Sahar Police Station said, “This matter is very serious. We have registered an FIR in this regard.”
When we tried to contact Rajeev Jain, CEO, GVK Mumbai International Airport Ltd he remained unavailable for comment.