It has been reported that clogged toilets caused Air India flight to be grounded at Melbourne. A similar occurrence was reported few months back. Vaccum toilets on Air crafts is a system that needs thorough maintenance. It has some sensors and solenoid valves that will malfunction if tooth picks find their way to the valves. First of all it is necessary to have good maintenance of the aircraft. There is a need to educate the passengers through leaflets provided with the boarding passes and by showing precautionary instructions together with the safety briefing. Recently, we saw television programme showing extravagant celebrations by Air India officers while at the same time the flight was getting delayed. Insensitivity and selfishness of the staff is quite evident.
Air India employees think that their profession is meant for enjoyment, making money and providing service to customers take a backseat. Bad work culture is prevalent in the organization. Now, compare this with village level efforts where Bahraich type flood proof hand pumps have been devised to ensure clean drinking water. Some of the passengers are also to be blamed who do not understand the limitations of the toilets while flying. You must use the toilets ashore in waiting area before boarding. Do not try to flush any extraneous materials through the toilets.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on October, 2. This initiative was taken by the government to pay tribute to Gandhiji who had a vision of clean India. Modi had nominated the names of Goa governor Mridula Sinha, Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar, yoga guru Baba Ramdev, actor Kamal Haasan, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, actress Priyanka Chopra, actor Salman Khan, business honcho Anil Ambani and the team of Tarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashma to spread awareness on cleanliness and make ‘Swachh Bharat’ a people’s movement. However, this campaign will only become successful if fines are imposed on people spitting in public places and littering the garbage. Even the Ramayana says, “Bhai bin hoi na preet”. Public sector enterprises do not function efficiently and profitably in our country.
Shipping Corporation of India used to be an efficient company and many of us have learnt a lot from the organization. Lately, we see slackness and mismanagement in the functioning of the company but nobody is bothered about it. India is a big country but very few domestic airlines operate in the nation. If more low cost airlines are introduced then it will reduce the pressure on railways. The government should now stop sermonizing and start working by building a capable and vast workforce.