Ravi Speaks:
Did you miss the flight from Patna?
#GandhiSetuBachao@NitishKumar@SushilModi?
Yes, I have missed the crucial flight twice in the year 2019 till October from Patna for no fault of my own to be very true to my words. It is not me alone but hundreds of people from North Bihar mainly who also have missed their crucial flights taking off from Patna. Thanks to the continued construction work going on the biggest and the longest Setu in Northeast India with the name – “Gandhi-Setu”- connects the northern areas of Bihar with the Patna city or the capital of the state.
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| PATNA AIRPORT WITH INDIGO FLIGHT IN THE BAY |
People out of share frustration wanted to join this hashtag scenario so that the causative factor for such happenings at the Patna airport is taken care of at the earliest by completely correcting the problem arising at the five km long Gandhi Setu-which is still being attended to for the repairs in parts by the concerning authorities. People have been losing a lot of their business, time and importantly missing out on their valuable time scheduled travels plans affecting them as well as the state’s business in the long run.
I remember one evening in July while coming from Muzaffarpur I reached Gandhi-Setu at around 6.30 PM and my cab had just started to cross the Setu towards the airport. My flight was at 9.10 PM from Indigo [Patna to New Delhi] which normally used to be on time. I remember for sure that my cab got stuck amid the heavier traffic on the bridge and there was hardly any movement possible for more than one and a half hours. Out of share frustration I picked up my luggage and went to the sidetrack of the bridge and requested one gentleman who was driving the bike on the side track towards Patna city. He initially did not agree but when I told him about my flight timing and the possibility of missing the same due to this jam-he agreed to take me as his back-seat passenger.
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| NORMAL SIGHT OF TRAFFIC JAM AT GANDHI SETU |
The scenario was such that only the two-wheelers were moving slowly from the sides and people were trying to get these two-wheelers to reach the other corner of the city. I somehow, after another half an hour or so reached the Rajendra Prasad Railway station and the time left out for my flight was not even half an hour. The bike man realizing that I could not reach the airport if he dropped me there at the railway station decided to take me all along to the airport. The moment I reached the airport and entered the lobby-to my surprise the bookings had stopped and they had closed the issuing of the passenger’s Boarding Ticket.
I went to the manager of Indigo straight and found five to six more passengers like me requesting to consider their case and issue the Boarding cards to them as well. The manager after talking to the pilot on the plane did not agree and said that we could wait for the subsequent flight to Delhi which had to go after one and a half-hour later. Even after our lot of persuasion and requests those “indigo people” did not agree to adjust us on the same flight and the whole exercise of running on two-wheelers from the bridge to the airport went as an exercise in futility.
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| NORMAL SIGHT OF TRAFFIC JAM AT GANDHI SETU |
Since I was stuck in snarled traffic on the way to the airport and appeared to be a candidate for what’s colloquially known as the “flat-tire rule.” The flat-tire rule is a longstanding practice of some airlines that allows passengers who miss flights due to circumstances outside their control to take the next available flight, providing space is available, with additional fees and fares waived.
Nothing like that was even possible here in Patna and finally realizing that the last flight was due and if we could get the fresh ticket for that flight, we would still be in a position to reach our residences the same night, and that way our one day would not be wasted. So, I had to purchase the fresh flight ticket and that way pay heavily at the prevailing rates.
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| MAHATMA GANDHI SETU-IN DISREPAIR |
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| MAHATMA GANDHI SETU AFTER SOME REPAIRS. |
Thus I managed to reach my hometown the same night by purchasing the fresh ticket for no fault of my own but yes the whole matter was due to the known big jam of traffic on the long Mahatma Gandhi Setu. People have been paying very heavily for almost a couple of years now due to this continuing agony where the government of Bihar and even the Aviation department along with the concerned Bridge construction departments of the state level and Central level authorities should have on a priority basis completed this fast and wiped off this ailing problem from the local state level travelers and even the interstate businessmen.
Before this once at the beginning of January 2019 while coming back only from Hajipur- I had a similar situation arising for me and that time also the flight was missed. I remember that time for sure the airline people had given us the special consideration of adjusting in their next flight due subject to the availability of the seats.
People deliberately leave their respective places at least three hours earlier to the scheduled flight timings so that they would not become unnecessarily the victim of such traffic snarls or the jams on the Bridge like Gandhi Setu.
Had it been happening in any other country-the passengers would have been suitably compensated and at the same time, the ongoing agony of the daily jams on the bridge also would have been fixed once for all. Why I am forced to talk like this is simply because the people of the area might raise their concern and even agitate-the speed of the construction there at that important bridge is going on a snail’s pace still although almost the whole renovation work is almost complete. Why make this work look like going on from long to prolong still?
To give the real facelift to the pace of such work I would love you the reader to join the hashtag campaign {#GandhiSetuBachao@Nitish Kumar@SushilModi} in the comments section below and spread it around fast so that something tangible is seen as progress from the government of Bihar side as well.