LGBI roof leaks as rain lashes Assam

Guwahati: The Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport was caught leaking on Monday night following a heavy downpour. Monday night's heavy downpour caused a shower inside Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport here as rainwater leaked through the roof.

As heavy rains lashed the city, passengers and airline staff inside the airport felt the impact as the roof at the airport's departure area started to leak.

The X-ray baggage scanning machines got a drenching while passengers and airline staff ran for cover. They were taken aback to see water drip from the roof and make a puddle on the floor.

According to the meteorological department, Borjhar area, where the airport is located, received 94mm of "heavy rainfall" between 8.30pm and 10.30am.

Airport officials were left red-faced as water pouring through the roof went viral.

A video posted on twitter tagged Union civil aviation minister Jayant Sinha, who responded with a tweet: "Please be assured that we take all these issues very seriously. An inquiry is already under way and we will be getting a formal report on how this happened."

Raj Gogoi, a city-based marketing executive, said, "This is an extremely sorry sight. I have never come across a leaking roof in an airport." He probably had not seen Calcutta airport in June, when a heavy downpour sprung multiple leaks in an extended section of the domestic terminal.

The airport was renovated ahead of the global investors' summit, Advantage Assam, held here in February this year.

A statement issued by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Tuesday said the airport's roof drain overflowed due to intense downpour on Monday night. It said the water leaked through the roof as the drain between the erstwhile canopy, which is now enclosed on the city-side expansion and the terminal building, could not accommodate the run-off water of the catchment roofs.

"Normalcy was restored within an hour by cleaning the floors. No passenger movement and flight operations were affected," the AAI statement said.

"To prevent recurrence of such incidents, corrective measures have been taken on a war footing. All concerned at Guwahati airport have been instructed by AAI regional headquarters to carry out checks as per the standing instructions of AAI," the statement said.

The AAI said the airport has not witnessed such an incident in the recent past.