Humane face of cops at Srinagar airport
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, February 2
Over five-month-long communication blockade adversely affected people across Kashmir but many of them would find a breather at the Srinagar international airport, where the police authorities are ready to facilitate the smooth travel for passengers.
Nearly a dozen policemen from the airport’s main gate to the boarding lounge are designated for helping the passengers to verify the ticket details, communicate with their relatives and facilitating the movement of ailing passengers.
A pregnant woman, Shagufta Aijaz of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district was travelling alone to Qatar on Tuesday to be with her family there. Aijaz had no idea that she has to book a return ticket before moving out of India.
“Earlier, I was never asked to book return ticket before travelling to Qatar,” she said.
She got terrified and felt helpless. “My husband booked a return ticket for me but I had no access to Internet. Even I have never used any email account in my life,” said Aijaz, who was worried that she may miss her flight.
To her surprise, two policemen inside the airport lounge asked her if she needed any help. “I narrated the whole story to them (policemen). They talked to my husband on phone and gave him an email ID on which he sent me the ticket,” she said.
Another passenger Muhammad Wasim along with his family of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district got stuck in a traffic jam and reached the airport several minutes after boarding was closed. Wasim’s family was travelling to New Delhi last week for the treatment of his father.
Distressed Wasim thought of returning home when a policeman intervened. “Policemen pleaded my case with private airline officials and ensured my boarding pass after proper security check,” Wasim said.
Similar stories of police officials extending a helping hand to passengers are emerging on a regular basis from the Srinagar airport.
“It gives us great satisfaction to help our people in need. We come from the same society and don’t like it if anyone gets hurt by our actions,” a policeman said.
He said the police authorities at the airport had given them clear directions to ensure smooth travel for all the passengers in and out of the Srinagar airport. “We go through regular drills to learn how to communicate with the passengers at the airport,” he said.
