On 24th July, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia schooled General Secretary in-charge Communications of Indian National Congress Jairam Ramesh over a misleading tweet about “collapsed” false ceiling at Veer Savarkar International Airport in Andaman.
In his tweet, Scindia explained that the ceiling in the viral video quote-tweeted by Ramesh was of the structure outside the terminal building and a part of the false ceiling was deliberately loosened for CCTV work. Later, heavy winds (about 100 KMPH) led to the swinging panels that were recorded in the video. After the completion of the work, the false ceiling was restored. Scindia said, “Next time, instead of jumping the gun and seeking sensationalism out of nothing, just seek an explanation.”
Scindia was replying to Jairam Ramesh‘s tweet where he claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated incomplete and substandard infrastructure, in this case, Veer Savarkar Airport. He wrote, “The Prime Minister will inaugurate anything these days — even if it’s unfinished or substandard infrastructure (highways, airports, bridges, trains, etc.). More than willing, ministers anxious to boost their Sensex with him oblige. It’s the taxpayers and citizens who pay the cost. Such a sorry state of affairs in ‘New India’!”
The Congress leader was quoting a tweet by Andama Chronicle that showed a swinging false ceiling panel.
The new integrated terminal building of Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair was inaugurated virtually by PM Narendra Modi earlier this month on Tuesday, July 18. With a construction cost of around ₹710 crore, the new terminal building will be able to handle about 50 lakh passengers annually.