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Chief minister Mamata Banerjee at the inauguration of the new terminal on Sunday evening. (Amit Datta)
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Mamata Banerjee on Sunday exhorted the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to get more airlines to fly out of Calcutta, but industry representatives suggested she herself needs to do more to make that happen.
“I ask the airports authority to request other airlines to come to Calcutta. West Bengal is the destination for industrial investment. It’s number one in small-scale industry and also doing well in large-scale industry,” Mamata said during the inauguration of the new integrated terminal in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and officials of airlines.
The new terminal can handle 20 million passengers annually, almost double the 10.5 million people who now fly to and from the city.
While Mamata has woken up to the need for more air and passenger traffic to make the new terminal count, her response to a request by K.N. Srivastava, secretary in the ministry of civil aviation, typified the Trinamul government’s attitude towards bottlenecks.
“I want to point out some issues to the honourable CM. Due to the poor drainage system, the airport gets flooded. We need an improved drainage system and we seek her help in this matter,” Srivastava had said.
“It is a small matter. I have already talked to (local MP) Saugata Ray. We will include it under a JNNURM project. We will also introduce Volvo bus service, available till midnight, from the terminal. We will look after the safety of tourists,” she said.
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