Dum Dum: A police assistance kiosk was opened outside the airport terminal building on Monday afternoon for passengers to lodge complaints and seek help.

"Officers at the booth will keep taxi touts in check and help passengers book pre-paid taxis," an officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said.

"The kiosk, set up opposite gate No. 2B on the arrival level, will be staffed by four cops at all time. Each team will be headed by an officer of the rank of assistant sub-inspector. The booth will have a radio set so that the cops can ask for back-up during any emergency."

Metro has on several occasions reported how fliers coming out of the airport are hounded by taxi touts.

While some of the touts pose as trolley pushers and station themselves outside the gates, others hang around the pre-paid taxi counter and try to lure away passengers by saying that prepaid taxis take a long time to come.

Some target passengers headed for the bus stand in the airport compound.

Amit Javalgi, deputy commissioner, headquarters, Bidhannagar commissionerate, said the kiosk had been set up to boost police presence in front of the terminal.

"Passengers will be able to lodge any kind of complaint at the booth. The kiosk has been set up right in front of the terminal building so that no one can miss it. The cops who will be on duty at the booth will be asked to keep a eye on the touts," Javalgi said.

Two more police kiosks are in the pipeline. "We are aware of the problem posed by taxi touts. We undertake regular drives against them and have arrested several. But they always come back," an officer of the commissionerate said.