KOLKATA: Kazi Shahadat Hussain and his wife Jahan Akhtar had slightly stepped out of the airport when a thick-set man approached them. “Sir, luxurious taxi lagbe? Ja bhara, tar cheye kom e niye jabo. (Sir, do you need luxurious cab? I can come up with aride at a fare not up to the reputable one),” he said, taking up the baggage trolley even prior to the duo could react. The aged couple are compatible the man’s passenger profile. They had just arrived from Chittagong and seemed unsure.
“We have to go to a hotel on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road,” said Hussain, somewhat relieved at the obvious just right fortune of bumping right into a cab driving force as a substitute of having to seek for one. “My car is right there. It will price you simply Rs 900, lower than what you would have to pay if you walked over to that sales space,” the driving force said, pointing to a pre-paid sales space that operated luxurious cabs. The couple would had been taken for a ride but for a just right Samaritan, who stepped in. He booked an app cab for the couple, an AC sedan, that price them Rs 353. Had they taken a non-AC metered taxi from the pre-paid sales space, they might have needed to pay Rs 282.
The driving force, Ratan, who missed the chance to fleece the 2, grumbled for a minute prior to heading to the exit gate. In no time, he used to be off, whistling at the wheel, as he drove a Naga woman to Howrah station for Rs 900. Ratan is amongst a gang of over 50 taxi touts that operate with impunity at Kolkata airport. All of them have perfected the art of profiling passengers to pick the vulnerable— mostly foreigners and first-timers —to fleece them, charging fourfive occasions the fare throughout the day and eight to 10 occasions at night. “These males sully the impression of the town. A cab driving force is the first level of interface for any customer,” said Akhtar, surprised at how much Ratan had intended to overcharge.
Worse, just about everyone — airport officers, CISF and native law enforcement officials— is aware of the racket but none willing to behave. The issue has been raised at airport advisory committee conferences for years but to no avail. “Taxi touts are standard to Kolkata. Visitors from Bangladesh and the Northeast are in particular vulnerable throughout the day, while foreigners are the target at night,” an airline reputable said. A international provider reputable said it used to be ashame nobody addressed it.
While AAI and CISF handed the dollar at the police, law enforcement officials seemed the wrong way. Raids are few and a ways between to successfully root out the risk. Bidhannagar Commissionerate officers cited body of workers scarcity as the cause of the failure to curb the risk. “We behavior drives but AAI and CISF should also alert us,” said an officer.
TOI on Saturday spotted at least 5 touts outside the arrival terminal. The fares being quoted had been Rs 850-900 to Esplanade or Howrah and Rs 1,000-1,500 to Dakshineshwar. One of the touts, Sanjay, guided a TOI correspondent to a red Tata Indigo, with a non-public quantity plate, promising a hassle-free ride to Esplande for Rs 900. “Every day, aside from when theCM or the governor is at the airport, 35-40 white cabs are parked at two puts: prior to Gate 1A and between gates 4B and 5A. This, no-parking in spite of notices,” a metered cab driving force said.
The nexus has a large internet. A pre-paid sales space, with Helpline Transport & Car Parking Cooperative Society Ltd on it, has no fare chart on display. The man at the sales space informed TOI a commute to New Market would price Rs 550 in a non-AC vehicle and Rs 780 in an AC car, just about two times pay as you go metered cab fares. “We fee two-way fares from the airport,” said the operator. The luxurious tag is a misnomer as they offer common vehicles.
Times View
Touts, waiting to pounce on visitors and fleece them, right at the entry level to the town isn't a perfect commercial for Kolkata. The authorities should blank up the realm right away.
“We have to go to a hotel on Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road,” said Hussain, somewhat relieved at the obvious just right fortune of bumping right into a cab driving force as a substitute of having to seek for one. “My car is right there. It will price you simply Rs 900, lower than what you would have to pay if you walked over to that sales space,” the driving force said, pointing to a pre-paid sales space that operated luxurious cabs. The couple would had been taken for a ride but for a just right Samaritan, who stepped in. He booked an app cab for the couple, an AC sedan, that price them Rs 353. Had they taken a non-AC metered taxi from the pre-paid sales space, they might have needed to pay Rs 282.
The driving force, Ratan, who missed the chance to fleece the 2, grumbled for a minute prior to heading to the exit gate. In no time, he used to be off, whistling at the wheel, as he drove a Naga woman to Howrah station for Rs 900. Ratan is amongst a gang of over 50 taxi touts that operate with impunity at Kolkata airport. All of them have perfected the art of profiling passengers to pick the vulnerable— mostly foreigners and first-timers —to fleece them, charging fourfive occasions the fare throughout the day and eight to 10 occasions at night. “These males sully the impression of the town. A cab driving force is the first level of interface for any customer,” said Akhtar, surprised at how much Ratan had intended to overcharge.
Worse, just about everyone — airport officers, CISF and native law enforcement officials— is aware of the racket but none willing to behave. The issue has been raised at airport advisory committee conferences for years but to no avail. “Taxi touts are standard to Kolkata. Visitors from Bangladesh and the Northeast are in particular vulnerable throughout the day, while foreigners are the target at night,” an airline reputable said. A international provider reputable said it used to be ashame nobody addressed it.
While AAI and CISF handed the dollar at the police, law enforcement officials seemed the wrong way. Raids are few and a ways between to successfully root out the risk. Bidhannagar Commissionerate officers cited body of workers scarcity as the cause of the failure to curb the risk. “We behavior drives but AAI and CISF should also alert us,” said an officer.
TOI on Saturday spotted at least 5 touts outside the arrival terminal. The fares being quoted had been Rs 850-900 to Esplanade or Howrah and Rs 1,000-1,500 to Dakshineshwar. One of the touts, Sanjay, guided a TOI correspondent to a red Tata Indigo, with a non-public quantity plate, promising a hassle-free ride to Esplande for Rs 900. “Every day, aside from when theCM or the governor is at the airport, 35-40 white cabs are parked at two puts: prior to Gate 1A and between gates 4B and 5A. This, no-parking in spite of notices,” a metered cab driving force said.
The nexus has a large internet. A pre-paid sales space, with Helpline Transport & Car Parking Cooperative Society Ltd on it, has no fare chart on display. The man at the sales space informed TOI a commute to New Market would price Rs 550 in a non-AC vehicle and Rs 780 in an AC car, just about two times pay as you go metered cab fares. “We fee two-way fares from the airport,” said the operator. The luxurious tag is a misnomer as they offer common vehicles.
Times View
Touts, waiting to pounce on visitors and fleece them, right at the entry level to the town isn't a perfect commercial for Kolkata. The authorities should blank up the realm right away.
Taxi touts have free run at airport but none puts brakes on racket
![Taxi touts have free run at airport but none puts brakes on racket]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
April 01, 2018
Rating:
