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What he did to the Aviation Community in general and to the Air Traffic
Controllers in particular.
New Delhi, March 28, 2003.
Brijendra Shekhar Shukla, General Secretary, ATCG(I), who left for heavenly
abode on the 15th March 2003, at a young age of 38 was the pole star of the Air
Traffic Controllers in India. Shekhar has carved a niche for himself in the
history of the ATCG(I), in his capacity of the Regional Secretary, ATCG(I),
Mumbai Region between 1994 & 95 and thereafter as the General Secretary from
April 1996. His contribution to both the profession and the association is
unparalleled. The ATCG(I) which was formed in 1964, his year of birth, had to
wait for three decades for this charismatic leader to hold the reins and guide
it to a position of strength. It was he who instilled a new sense of confidence
and self respect in the minds of the Air Traffic Controllers in India by raising
the slogan: ATC profession is a unique one meriting comparison with that of the
pilots and nobody else in the field of Aviation. He did this after a thorough
study of authentic reports and recommendations made by expert bodies of ICAO,
ILO and the Court proceedings against 8 Air Traffic Controllers involved in a
fatal air crash in Zagreb (in former Yugoslavia), in 1976. This was endorsed by
two national bodies, Justice Lahoti Court of Inquiry and the Julka Committee.
The observations of Hon’ble Justice Lahoti are emphatic: “It goes without saying
that whereas, the responsibility of a Pilot in Command is limited to his
aircraft and passengers on board thereon, that of the (Air Traffic) Controller
extends to all aircraft (and passengers) under his control at any given time.”
History has thus vindicated him, in no uncertain terms.
The two big questions he addressed were: 1) the working conditions & 2) the
service conditions.
As regards to the first question his contribution has been immense. IT was he
who brought the ATCOs who were the dark room boys to the limelight. On the 13th
October 1984, at the inaugural session of the sixth All India convention of the
ATCG(I), the Hon’ble (Late) Rajiv Gandhi”, opened his address, .. delegates and
friends- many of whom I would recognize better by voices than their faces.. The
faces behind the voices were made known to the nation by his relentless efforts.
He had always been unrelenting in his pursuit, especially when defending the
cause of the ATCOs. In April 1997, an Air Traffic Controller was suspended from
service, not heard of any time before, dealing a telling blow on the confidence
of the ATCOs, for whom self confidence is of paramount importance to keep the
skies safe. A strike was called by the ATCG (I), Shekhar stood his ground firm
in support of the victimized ATCO, until the suspension was revoked. Whereas
others may see this incident as a case of defending an erring Officer, Shekhar
perceived it as a case of protecting the confidence of the Controllers- that too
in the interests of Air Safety, which is the manifest from of the Controller’s
self confidence, which should never be undermined. He has thus given a new
dimension to the concept of Air Safety. The lessons of Zagreb have prompted him
to act with foresight and determination. This is a significant contribution to
the concept of Aviation Safety and hence to the Aviation Community in general.
Shekhar constantly provided suggestions and ideas for the improvement in
Airspace planning and acted as a conduit between the membership and the
management in consolidating and communication suggestions for improvement in ATS
plans and procedures. He has contributed significantly, as a leader of the
ATCOs, to the implementation of the new CNS-ATM plans and also in the
implementation of the MATSBD (Modernisation of ATC in Bombay and Delhi) , which
was conceived in the early 90s and implemented in the late 90s with the
cooperation of the ATCG(I). He was actively involved in the conception of the
EMAARSH routes, which has been implemented recently, providing for efficient
utilisation of airspace and availability of economic flight levels. I n the last
five years the guild has been wearing a professional outlook, conducting several
professional workshops and seminars, held at major venues viz., Delhi, Kolkata,
Mumbai, Chennai and Trivandrum. In these seminars Shekhar has personally made
several note worthy contributions, i.e., several papers, including Legal
liabilities of ATCOs, Emerging trends in ATM, Read back expectancy factors etc.,
In the Hon’ble Justice Lahoti Court of Inquiry – into the mid air collision in
Charki Dadri, Shekhar was the intervener in the proceedings, on behalf of the
ATCG(I). His clear portrayal of the facts of the case, the defence of ATCOs won
several accolades from all quarters. One of the recommendations of the Court of
Inquiry was, “In the field of Aviation, flying and Air Traffic Controlling are
the most important aspects..”
As an ATC professional he dreamt of seamless and continuous radar coverage over
the entire Indian airspace and he pursued this with the Civil Aviation
Management. On date, but for a few gaps which will be filled up in due course,
the Indian Airspace is almost under Radar Coverage.
The website of the Air Traffic Controllers Guild viz., www.atcguild.com, which
has been online since December 2000, is his brainchild; it has won several
prestigious awards and has been recommended by the Discovery Channel as one of
the best websites on ATC.
Another task he was keenly engaged in was to affiliate the ATCG(I) to the
International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) as a
member Association. IFATCA is a world body of ATCOs in which more than 160
associations are already members. For the last couple of years he has been
diligently pursuing this objective and the efforts were nearing completion.
From the service conditions point of view it is not out of place to quote from
Shri Rajiv Gandhi’s speech that “… of course wages are important and they must
be looked after.. job satisfaction is a very key factor and in a way it also
contributes to the professionalism..” Shekhar addressed this problem of the
controllers who were drawing a few thousands as salaries and a few hundreds as
rating allowances. After the constitution of the Julka Committee, which came
into existence because of his untiring efforts, and the partial implementation
of the recommendations, based on an agreement signed by the Guild and the
Management on November 1997, the Controllers now draw a few thousands as the
rating allowances. The ATCOs, post 1997, have a changed lifestyle and social
status, a better sense of security and a higher degree of motivation to pursue
their profession as true professionals. All this they owe to the clarity of
vision and dynamism in accomplishing the mission of, Shekhar.
Difficulties and hardship never deterred him from pursuing his chosen objectives
with mulish devotion. The days after the dismissal of the 6 ATCOs from service
were days of immense hardship for them and the Guild. Again Shekhar stood firm,
without becoming panicky and frustrated. The way they faced all these hardships
during these days is a legend in itself. At least in the Aviation Industry there
is no parallel. It is this inspiring example which induced other
associations/unions in AAI to form a joint front of action to act in concert on
common issues. From the position of utter disorder, he brought up the Guild to
serve as role model for others as well. This is a record achievement.
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