Kolkata: Airports have begun to record near 50,000-plus footfall daily – 50,951 on Monday – do not have a single atm outside.
The nearest ATM kiosk outside the terminal building is located more than 600 m in Jessore Road, where someone has to take a taxi or a pedicab and remove whatever between Rs 100 to Rs 150 or record 20 minutes to withdraw cash.
“Last week, I came out of the airport and realized I had a little money with me.
I needed cash as a pre-paid taxi counter didn’t accept cards because some errors and taxi app refused to ply without cash payments.
But unfortunately, I didn’t find one ATM anywhere nearby.
I have to walk far to VIP Road and then further towards Jessore Road with two trolley bags before I can get a functional ATM and draw a sum of money.
How can the international airport can even run like this? “said Dwaipayan Roy, who Reach Kolkata from Bangalore.
Soumya Mukherjee, another frequent leaflet, said he had faced this problem many times in the middle of a pandemic.
“It happened to me twice that I forgot to withdraw cash from the airport and outside, I found nothing.
I have no choice but to order an ingenious taxi from slander agreed to pay extra money just to stop at an ATM in the middle of the house I am in Hooghly to withdraw cash, “said Mukherjee, management consultant.
Towers of rickshaw admitted to Mint leaflets, agreed to take them to functional ATMs outside the airport and bring them back for anything between Rs 300-Rs 350.
“Passengers who are not familiar with the area are looking for ATM assistance and it is a set of values ​​for us To bring passengers to ATMs from the airport and bring them back, “said one of the pedicab pullers near the Volvo bus stand.
While smoke passengers with the absence of basic facilities, the airport authority begs for helplessness that claimed they had tried to find a matching bidder for the past half a year and had issued two different tenders, every time he lowered the number but had not looked down to find a bank that agreed to pay rent quoted and operating an ATM in two empty places across the gate 2A / 2B from the arrival terminal.
Even inside the airport, there are only two functional ATMs that operate at this time with two other remaining empty kiosks.
“This is a troubling problem.
There are three-four banks operating ATMs inside and outside the airport but during a pandemic, their contract ends and they have never been updated.
Since then, we have called a tender twice but has not received any response.
I am now has approached the head office to reduce further tariffs.
We cannot just submit ATMs to the bank.
We must follow certain procedures.
With passenger legs back to the pre-pandemic level, we hope we will find the response this time, “said C Pattabhi, Director Airport.