Fleecing gateways

Fleecing gateways
Vijay Times

The happiness of smooth landing at the HAL airport lasts till the exit gates only. It’s costly taxiing from then on as thugs fully drunk virtually take over your life posing as taxi drivers. With no police or the men-in-khaki being part of the late-night racket, one has no option but to pay up double or triple the normal fare back home or hotel.

Around 150 unauthorised taxis operate at the airport between 11 pm and 7 am every night.

They make a killing, as apart from forcing commuters to shell out double the actual fare, they also block authorised taxi operators from picking up passengers outside the departure longue. As soon as passengers come out of the departure lounge, the taxi drivers who also double up as tourist guides, rush towards them and virtually herd them into their taxis.

And these fast operators are a closely-knit bunch, who operate in such a manner that they can take turns to take these passengers on a joy ride, and none is left out. Hence there is no infighting among them for the ‘prey’.

“The drivers operate in batches of around 30 for one flight. As soon as the passengers step out from the departure lounge, they pick their passengers and force them to board their taxis. Those who refuse at first will have to accept their proposal once they find that all drivers operate on the same platform,” an AAI employee told VViijja ayy T Tiimmeess..

As a majority of the international flights, numbering between five and ten, arrive during this time, it makes the job easier for these taxi drivers, says Jayadev, the contractor overseeing the parking in the airport premises.

“ Most of these drivers also act as tourist guides, they show a duplicate fare chart and lure them to board the taxis. The fares for all star hotels is Rs 500 no matter how close it is. Besides, they also offer extra service to passengers for room bookings etc for which they again charge,” he adds.

Narrating his experience, Rajesh Kumar Jain, a passenger, says : “ With the pre-paid KSTDC taxi operators shutting down at 10 pm, there is no other option left but to board one of these cabs. Normally, the taxi fare from airport to Jayanagar would be Rs 250 to Rs 300, but I had to shell out close to Rs 700. Apart from this, the harassment from these drivers, some of whom are drunk, is unbearable.” Around 25 to 30 domestic flights also arrive during this hour.

The police, as usual, don’t think such a problem exists.

M A Saleem, DCP (East), admitted that such incidents were reported in the past, but said that of late, they had taken steps to monitor such cases by deploying police personnel round-theclock. “At present, two sub inspectors, one belonging to law and order and another from the traffic, have been deployed. Passengers are urged to board only government authorised taxis,” he said.