Kolkata: Airport officials have flagged an SOS to the state govt and police to unclog the bottleneck at Kaikhali junction that is holding up passengers and airline staff and delaying flights during monsoon.
The issue figured prominently at the airport advisory committee meeting attended by MP Sougata Roy, senior police officials, local municipal officials and state govt representatives on Thursday.
“The bottleneck at Kaikhali junction is a major inconvenience to airport-bound traffic. During heavy rain, there is waterlogging and passenger are unable to reach the airport. There is also an immediate need to widening the slip road from VIP Road and Jessore Road near airport gate no. 1. It can be achieved by removing encroachments like illegal parking of buses and autos and temporary stalls,” said an airport official.
At the meeting cops and PWD officials blamed shifting and subsequent clogging of drains outside the airport as the reason behind flooding inside the airport operational area as well as outside the airport.
At the meeting, airport officials also asked cops to continue its drive against touts that had been a success in recent times.
Among the other points discussed were relocation of the airport police station to facilitate metro work, removal of condemned vehicles lying in the parking area and shifting of the operational boundary wall near the mosque inside the airport area.
At the meeting, AAI officials also highlighted how construction of highrise buildings were happening near the airport without proper NOC. Airport officials also asked cops to control laser activities around the airport.
TOI in multiple articles earlier this month had highlighted how airport-bound passengers were caught up in traffic snarls because of poor condition of the road outside the airport.
At the start of this month, cops even had to shut a portion of Ultadanga-bound VIP Road between airport gate number 1 and Kaikhali after relentless rain had washed away the top layer of the road resulting in multiple craters and potholes popping up at several places.