NEW DELHI, Feb 3: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday vowed to press ahead with plans to privatise two airports despite a strike that has caused chaos at airports for three consecutive days.

Mr Singh’s tough message was delivered in talks with his leftwing allies, who oppose the privatisation of the airports in New Delhi and Mumbai and who support the strike by the 22,000-member Airport Authority of India (AAI) workers’ union.

“The government said it would not reverse the privatisation process but that it can discuss other issues like the absorption of all airport employees,” said Marxist leader Jyoti Basu, briefing reporters after the meeting.

At the talks in New Delhi, the premier had told the leftwing leaders — who provide crucial parliamentary support to his coalition government — that he would hold a meeting with union leaders soon, Mr Basu said. Air terminals were in chaos with power down and lax security.

However, flights were on schedule and air traffic controls functioned normally at India’s 130 airports.

Pilots and passengers trudged to aircraft on foot and airline executives manually handled baggage while freight terminals remained stacked with perishable cargo rotting, witnesses said.

“Aircraft are not being cleaned and getting ladders for disembarkation at airports is a nightmare,” said a pilot of a privately-run Jet Airways Airbus plane after landing in New Delhi.

India awarded contracts on Tuesday for revamping New Delhi and Mumbai airports to India’s GMR Industries in partnership with Germany’s Fraport, and the GVK group, which has teamed up with the South African airport authority.

The workers want a review of the decision, saying the AAI can carry out the revamp, arguing money to modernise the facilities could have come from public funds.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered the workers not to stage protests within 500 metres of the Delhi and Mumbai airports.

It also warned them not to disrupt the functioning of the airports after riot police were called in to guard terminals following scuffles in which windows were smashed.

After the court ruling, protestors kept a low profile in Delhi.

The federal government says it is allowing takeovers by Indian-foreign consortia to get funds to modernise the shabby and overcrowded airports.

CANCELLATION SOUGHT: India’s largest private company, Reliance, which was the highest bidder for the Delhi airport, asked the Delhi High Court to cancel the bidding process after it lost the contract.

The government in awarding the contracts said that GMR-Fraport, which matched the Reliance bid, was better qualified technically for the job.

The government has said all employees will be retained for three years, after which the two consortia have promised to absorb 60 per cent of the workforce. The rest will be absorbed by the AAI, it said.

The government has said it could cost up to 4.5 billion dollars to raise the two airports, which handle around 50 per cent of India’s passenger traffic, to world class standards. —AFP