Sprucing up stinking and stained washrooms, adding lights worth ₹3 crore for better illumination and polishing marble floors to clean the dirt accumulated over the years — the Calcutta airport authorities are finally bringing small changes to make its terminal building look and feel better than what it does now.
The civil aviation ministry has asked the Calcutta airport to spruce up its stinking, stained and perpetually wet washrooms, which are the most talked about among passengers since the new terminal became operational in 2011.
Given a December 31 deadline, the airport authorities are replacing stained toilet seats, broken bathroom fittings and bringing other changes to 40-odd washrooms.
Along with these, the floors of the arrival and departure areas, which look dull and dirty, are being polished and cleaned. The small changes, made in a hurry, show the task is not always very difficult but takes effort.
“It is very difficult to completely overhaul an operational terminal building. So, we are making small changes to give the terminal a cleaner and brighter look,” said an airport official. “The civil aviation ministry has also asked us to improve the conditions of washrooms by December 31.”
Ministry sources said such advice has been given to other airports across the country, too.
The Calcutta airport authorities have taken up a ₹6.5-crore project for the renovation of 23 blocks of washrooms in the arrival and departure levels. Each block usually has three washrooms, one each for men, women and differently-abled passengers.
Officials said the renovation of three blocks is complete now, while another three would be ready soon.
“However, keeping washrooms closed is difficult and so, the renovation work will not be complete before December 2025,” said an official.
So, for the remaining 17 blocks, the small touch-ups are being done to meet the December 31 deadline for clean washrooms this year.
The small touch-ups include putting marble panels on walls outside the washrooms that looked dull and barren, using artificial green walls to cover stained and dirty walls and replacing broken fittings and stained toilet covers. The mirror frames that are worn out or discoloured are being replaced.
This work would cost ₹15 lakh, said an official.
“It is a small amount that could have been spent earlier if there were plans to improve the conditions of toilets,” said an official. “While making these small changes, we need not close the washrooms for long,” he said.
However, keeping the spruced-up washrooms clean is a big challenge.
Reluctant cleaners who are backed by unions is one of the main reasons for the stink the city’s airport has got because of the washrooms.
On Monday, Metro visited the washroom in the departure area, which was the first to undergo renovation in August. The mirrors already have stains and the cleaners present paid no heed to them.
More lights
Apart from the washrooms, the terminal’s lights would be improved, said officials. “We are buying ceiling lights worth ₹3 crore to improve the illumination inside the terminal building,” said the official.
Many passengers allege that the terminal building had a gloomy look because there are not enough lights.
Polished floors
The marble floors, which look dull because of the colour and more so because of the dirt accumulated over the years, are finally getting polished.
Airport officials said they are using machines to scrub and polish the marble, a practice common at private airports.
Airport sources said since the terminal became operational in 2011, no such polish work had been done.
Other amenities
Some flight information display systems inside the departure area look better. Earlier, there were hanging wires, which were eyesores.
Also, the May I Help You desks to assist passengers would be replaced with new ones.
“There would be six such help desks. The new ones would look better and also have facilities for differently-abled passengers,” said an official.