Kolkata: The Kolkata airport authorities have offered a much needed relief to new mothers arriving with infants at Kolkata airport from other cities, as they transformed an old and vacant office room into a childcare room at the arrival section of the airport on Wednesday evening.
Mothers arriving with infants at Kolkata airport have been demanding a child care room to breastfeed and change the baby’s diapers while waiting for their luggage at the carousel for years but to no avail.The issue was flagged time and again by passengers and was an issue of intense embarrassment to airport and airline staff who confronted such a situation but authorities at Kolkata airport had failed to respond to the calling till recently.
“It was indeed a matter of extreme importance and realising the same, we transformed an office room which was vacated by a medical unit recently into a childcare room,” said Kolkata airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria, who joined as the new director two months ago.
The integrated passenger terminal at Kolkata airport that was inaugurated 11 years ago has five childcare rooms in the upper level departure section where there are aero bridges and another in the bus boarding area for transfer to planes parked in remote bays but there was none for infants and mothers arriving at the airport after a flight till Wednesday.
“There was a crying need for a room near the baggage belts where a table is provided to change the child’s diapers along with a wash basin, a couple of chairs and a sofa. In a terminal the size of Kolkata airport, there were enough dead spaces where such rooms could have been easily constructed much earlier. But lack of will and sensitivity to passenger requirements had meant that such demands were ignored time and again. We are happy that the authorities have finally recognised it,” said an airline ground staff who has had to tell several mothers that there is no childcare facility in the airport’s arrival section.