An elderly couple who landed at the Calcutta airport on Sunday evening said they were approached by several touts when they tried to hire a taxi.
Finally, one person who “helped” them book an app cab and carried their luggage to the car took Rs 100 from them for the “service”.
The 69-year-old man and his 67-year-old wife, residents of Park Street, had to wait for more than an hour before they got the cab. Metro is withholding the couple’s names on their request.
Taxi touts have been hounding passengers arriving from other cities at the Calcutta airport for long and there is no change in the situation despite the arrest of some touts from time to time.
The couple arrived on an IndiGo flight from Ahmedabad, which landed around 7pm.
“We had to book a taxi. We went to the taxi counter inside the terminal building at the arrival level to book a Yatri Sathi cab. The person there said the system was not working and so a token could not be issued,” the man recounted on Monday.
“We waited for about 20 minutes but the system was still not operational.”
The couple came out and crossed the lanes in front of the terminal meant for private vehicles and went to the lane where the booths for app cabs and yellow taxis are located.
The Calcutta airport authorities have allotted seven slots to app cab operators such as Uber and Ola, yellow taxis and those registered on the Yatri Sathi app.
“As soon as we reached the lane, several people approached us, asking us where we were headed. When I said ‘Park Street’, one person said the fare would be Rs 1,500,” said the man.
“I told him the actual fare is much less. Several others approached us and quoted similar fares.”
The couple decided to book an app cab.
“Then another person approached me and offered help. The man said he would book an app cab for me but would take Rs 100. My wife was feeling unwell and we just wanted to get out of that place. So, I agreed,” said the man.
This tout took them to a counter where the husband paid Rs 850 and was given a token.
“The man then pushed our luggage trolley to the cab standing nearby and I paid him Rs 100,” he said. “Finally, we got out of the airport around 8.20pm.”
Earlier this year, Metro published a series of reports on problems faced by passengers at the Calcutta airport. Almost all the fliers this newspaper spoke to highlighted the menace of taxi touts.
A fleet of cars is regularly seen parked illegally in one of the lanes meant for the movement of commercial vehicles. Airport officials said these cars ferry passengers who are willing to pay fares higher than what the apps of the cab aggregators show or the prepaid taxi booths ask for.
A police kiosk is located in front of the illegally parked cars but no action is taken, airport officials alleged.
A senior police officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate’s airport zone said they were undertaking “regular drives against taxi touts” at the airport and illegal operatives are arrested.
According to the officer, anybody who is approached by a taxi tout should immediately lodge a police complaint.
“We take immediate action based on complaints of this nature. Anyone who is approached by such touts can approach our police patrol team at the airport and we will take it up from there. Every day, at least one police patrol jeep and several motorcycle-borne personnel are deployed infront of the terminal building,” said deputy commissioner, airport zone, Aishwarya Sagar.
Complaints can also be lodged with the public grievance redressal e-kiosks at the arrival and departure levels of the terminal building. One can access the kiosks by walking in through gate 3C of the terminal.
This newspaper reported on Monday that 14 taxi touts had been arrested in and around the airport in the past month.