Retired Senior Civil Servants Urge Assamese Announcements at Guwahati Airport

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Three retired senior civil servants urged the authorities of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (LGBIA) to introduce Assamese in all public announcements, stating that the present practice of using only English and Hindi overlooked the state’s principal regional language.

In a letter addressed to the Chief Airport Officer of the airport, retired IPS officers Kuladhar Saikia and Jyotirmoy Chakrabarty, along with retired ACS officer Mukul Chandra Gogoi, expressed concern over the absence of Assamese in announcements at Terminal 2. They maintained that the existing system did not reflect the intent of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s advisories encouraging the use of regional languages alongside Hindi and English.

The signatories argued that the inclusion of Assamese was essential not only for linguistic representation but also for ensuring effective communication during emergencies. They stated that passengers who were more familiar with Assamese could face difficulties in understanding critical safety instructions if announcements continued to be made only in English and Hindi.

They further cautioned that inadequate communication during emergencies could hamper timely responses and increase the risk of avoidable incidents caused by misunderstanding.

The retired officers appealed to the airport authorities to take necessary steps to ensure that Assamese was consistently included in all public announcements in accordance with the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s guidelines.

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