Illegal car rental kiosk at airport to shut down after TMC union agrees to vacate space

Kolkata: An allegedly illegal car rental kiosk, operating outside the Kolkata airport for years under the label of ‘Prepaid Cab-City & Outstation', was finally headed for a shutdown after the Trinamool-controlled union, which ran it, agreed to vacate the premises. The move came within three weeks of the change in govt.Airport officials declared the outlet illegal eight months ago. In Oct last year, then airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria served a notice to Helpline Transport and Car Parking, which operated the kiosk, directing it to "immediately close illegal operations of pre-paid taxi services" at the airport. Yet, the outlet, allegedly backed by the Trinamool-affiliated union, continued despite the shutdown directive and repeated allegations of fleecing passengers, promoting touts and operating under the guise of an authorised prepaid taxi service. The matter even reached the Centre.The kiosk eviction follows an intensified disciplinary drive by airport authorities over the past few days. Officials recently cleared hawkers and unauthorised food vendors from the old domestic terminal and also removed nine housekeeping staffers, employed by a private agency, for alleged dereliction of duty. Amid this tougher administrative stance, the Trinamool-affiliated union, which ran the car rental kiosk, indicated it would no longer oppose the eviction order. "When our party was in office in the state, we stood against such injustice. But now, there is little point in a fight. We know we will have to wrap up the car rental kiosk. Many depend on this kiosk for their livelihood but we have asked those drivers to look for other options. We will shut down shortly," said Barun Natta, a member of the Trinamool-controlled union at the airport.A recent directive by the Airports Authority of India permits only police-operated counters to run prepaid taxi services on airport premises. Now, the airport does not have an authorised prepaid taxi counter, and app cabs stay the only formal transport option. TOI found the kiosk operational even on Saturday, with one person in charge of services. Passengers continued to get misled by the name, ‘Prepaid Cab – City & Outstation', as they exited the terminal from Gate 2A/B and ended up paying two-way fares. Current airport director Vikram Singh said, "It is an illegal set-up. If they remove it by themselves, we will appreciate it."