PATNA, June 7 -- Three days after its operationalisation, water seepage was reported from the ceiling at a few places in the new integrated terminal building of the Jayprakash Narayan International (JPNI) airport, following a thunderstorm accompanied by showers and gusty wind in Patna on Friday morning, said officials. The downpour was the first after June 3, when passengers began utilising the new terminal building, built at a cost of over Rs.1,200 crore, following its inauguration by the prime minister on May 29. "Queue managers (stands fitted with elastic band, essentially to manage queues) were placed to restrict passengers from accessing the wet area, and moppers were used at regular intervals to dry the floor tile near the mural depicting Bihar's traditional Chhath festival in the arrival hall, as water trickled from the ceiling," said a passenger. The weather conditions also led to diversion of three Patna-bound IndiGo flights from Hyderabad (6E 6719), Lucknow (6E 6902) and Bengaluru (6E 6801) to Varanasi. Water seepage was also reported from the ceiling of a few washrooms in the departure area on the first floor. A horizontal bar of the false ceiling fell down in one of the washrooms for men in the arrival area, pointing to inferior construction. Passengers also pointed to poor finishing, including those of sanitary fittings in washrooms. "The footrest of the Indian-style lavatory is below the floor level and there are gaps between the fittings and the tiles on the wall and the floor, as they have not been properly covered with white cement," said Kamal Kishore Yadav, 80, a passenger. The thunderstorm also led to collection of dust inside the terminal due to incomplete work on the mushroom-shaped false ceiling, leaving a significant gap on one side of the departure area, said people in the know. "Utility cables, including electricity wires of distribution panels, are also hanging loose as they have not been covered inside ducts on false pillars at some places in the new terminal," said Yadav, a former railway employee. As for amenities, passengers complained there were no drinking water fountains inside the departure area, pointing to serious lapses in planning and execution of the construction of the new terminal building project. Following passenger complaints, the Airports Authority of India is buying water campers and placing them at vantage points in the departure area. Efforts to reach senior officers of AAI for comments proved futile. Nivedita Dubey, regional executive director of AAI eastern region, did not respond to this reporter's email sent at 2pm on Friday. "I haven't got time to look at your mail. I am in a meeting dealing with a critical issue right now. I shall revert to you when I get the time," she said,...