Two public grievance redress kiosks were inaugurated at the Kolkata airport on Tuesday so passengers who do not want to travel to the nearest police station can file complaints at the terminal.
A kiosk each has come up at the departure and arrival levels and can be accessed through gate 3C of the terminal.
The kiosks, which became functional from Tuesday, have been installed by the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, in association with the NGO Caring Minds and the Indian Chamber of Commerce.
“These are passenger-friendly kiosks. Often, passengers don’t have the time to go to the police station to file a complaint. The kiosks will be of help in such cases,” said Minu Budhia, psychotherapist and founder of Caring Minds.
“There are often problems like bad behaviour by airport staff or co-passengers. If a person is catching a flight, he or she does not have the time to visit the police station and file a complaint.”
The police said the kiosks had been set up to help passengers report their complaints faster.
However, fliers can only lodge complaints related to policing with the kiosks.
“People can only register complaints that are related to policing, like missing luggage or any issue where the police can intervene. Issues that are handled by the airport, such as trolleys or cleanliness of washrooms, will not be addressed through the kiosks,” said Aishwarya Sagar, deputy commissioner (airport), Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate.
A senior officer attached to the project said once a complaint is lodged with a kiosk, the complainant will be mailed an acknowledgement letter.
“If the complaint is serious enough to deserve police
intervention, the complainant will receive a call from the police. Then he or she will
have to visit the NSCBI Airport police station to lodge a formal FIR,” the senior officer said.
The two kiosks are positioned near the two police assistance booths that are located in the section of the terminal that can be accessed through gate 3C.
The Telegraph recently ran a campaign on various problems faced by passengers at the Kolkata airport — such as dirty washrooms, car chaos in front of the terminal on the arrival level, harassment by taxi touts, unauthorised parking by VIP cars in front of the terminal on the arrival level and restricted access to Wi-Fi.
The police may have nothing to do with dirty washrooms or restricted Wi-Fi access, but complaints about taxi touts operating with impunity and unauthorised parking may warrant police intervention.