KOLKATA: Ballygunge resident
Sanjeev Agarwal
was elated when he saw an array of
new trolleys
as he got down from his car with his elderly parents. But just as he kept a heavy bag on the trolley, the carrier toppled and the bag fell on his father’s foot, injuring him.
Such scenes have become common at the
Kolkata airport
since the arrival of the new trolleys that flyers and handlers claim are too light and often lose balance.
Soumya Mukherjee, a frequent flyer, said, “The old trolleys were sturdier. The new ones are lighter and look good, but the older ones were far better in carrying luggage. I tried out the new trolleys, but during my recent trip to Bangalore last week I dragged out an old trolley.”
The new trolleys manufactured by a Mumbai-based firm, Delite Systems Engineering Private Limited, weigh about 19kg — around 8kg lighter than the older ones. Among the other major differences, the front wheels of the new trolleys are like shaped like the nosewheel of an aircraft as compared to the widely placed wheels in the older designs. The new design makes manoeuvrability easier, but creates a balancing issue.
“Passengers are complaining a lot about the new trolleys and ask us to bring in the older ones. However, we find it difficult to explain that most of the older trolleys are damaged and beyond repairs. Now we have more new trolleys at the terminal than the older ones. However, due to the complaints, we do keep a stock of old trolleys and bring it in time to time on passenger demand,” said a trolley supervisor at the airport.
Last Thursday, a fresh set of 356 trolleys arrived the airport taking the count to 2,050. As per the contract, another 1,950 units will arrive by the end of this year. The airport still has around 1,000 old trolleys that are still functional but the authorities plan to phase them out, a source said.
“Around 100 of the new trolleys are already damaged, with nuts and bolts coming off and broken wheels. There are at least 300 other units that are experiencing wheel alignment issues. We have informed the matter to the airport authorities,” a trolley handler said.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Tamaghna Banerjee, a reporter from Kolkata, covers crime, aviatio...
Read MoreTamaghna Banerjee, a reporter from Kolkata, covers crime, aviation, human rights and politics. He has a keen interest in human interest and rural reporting. He has done his postgraduation in journalism and mass communication. He has a total of 14 years in journalism.
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