Police have started a crackdown on vehicles that flout the time bar in front of the terminal building of the city airport in a bid to decongest the lanes, but the rules are still different for “VIP vehicles” that continue to remain parked there for long durations.
Airport officials said police are slapping fines on errant vehicles in front of the terminal building, which they are not supposed to do.
A senior officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said they had started a campaign three days ago to decongest the area outside the terminal building. “Cars that are remaining parked for more than seven minutes of dwell time are being prosecuted,” the officer said.
Multiple police teams are doing rounds both at the arrival and departure levels to ensure that cars do not remain parked in the lanes right outside the terminal for more than the stipulated seven minutes, the officer said.
The teams are first asking the drivers of the parked vehicles for their parking slips. If a vehicle is found to be parked for more than seven minutes in front of the terminal on the arrival or the departure level, it is being slapped with a fine of Rs 500, the officer said.
An airport official said that earlier the police would check vehicles and slap fines till the approach to the terminal building, but not in front of it.
“The police are mainly active during the morning and afternoon rush hours when there are a large number of vehicles,” said an official.
The deputy commissioner of the Bidhannagar commissionerate in charge of the airport division, Aishwarya Sagar, said the drive has been launched to ensure that there are no traffic snarls in front of the building.
“During peak flying hours, when many flights take off or land in quick succession, the parked cars cause congestion in front of the terminal. So, we have taken the initiative to ensure that this doesn’t happen. We had initially issued warnings and made announcements from loudhailers. Now, we have started prosecuting drivers,” Sagar said.
Apart from private vehicles, the police are penalising taxis and other commercial vehicles which are flouting norms and entering lanes meant for private vehicles.
“The police are not even allowing us to pick up passengers from front of the terminal building,” said one taxi driver.
However, the so-called VIP cars, fitted with beacons and boards of various government agencies, continue to remain parked for long durations in front of the terminal, on the arrival level, in violation of rules.
Metro has run a campaign for a fortnight in January, highlighting the problems faced by passengers at the Kolkata airport.
One of the main problems is the chaos in front of the terminal building on the arrival level triggered by parked cars. Thanks to the congestion, cars coming to pick up passengers can barely move. Adding to the congestion, buses and taxis force their way into the lanes meant for private vehicles.
“We are asking the drivers of the parked VIP cars to move to their designated parking bays,” an officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said. However, the designated area remains empty as all beacon-fitted cars are in front of the building.
An airport official said the police should not slap fines on vehicles in front of the terminal.
“The police are supposed to manage traffic and prevent touts from harassing passengers. The fines are slapped by Omega Enterprises, which manages parking on the airport premises and the lanes in front of the terminal,” said a senior official at the airport.
“We have asked the manager in the terminal building to speak to the police. We’ll speak to the police in a day or two regarding this,” he said.
