Visitors going to the Vizag International Airport to bid adieu and to receive their near and dear ones are facing a peculiar problem.
Sometimes their problem is compounded when flights get delayed by a couple of hours.
There is no toilet near the swanky Terminal Building for visitors to relieve themselves. They cannot go into the building as visitors are not allowed unless they possess an entry ticket. The visitors have no access to the toilets as they are meant only for travelling passengers.
Visakhapatnam North MLA and BJP Floor Leader in the Assembly P. Vishnu Kumar Raju, who inspected the building following complaints from the public, expressed shock at the lack of toilets for visitors near the terminal building.
“The only toilet, which is far off from the terminal building, was locked and even the toilets inside the building are in a bad shape. This would send the wrong signal to international passengers. There are also no boards indicating the location of the toilet for visitors,” he told The Hindu .
“The toilet for visitors should be located in one corner of the terminal building and should be accessible from outside for the convenience of visitors. The facilities in the ladies toilet inside the airport are ‘awful’ and need to be rectified immediately,” Mr. Raju said.
When the issue was brought to his notice, Airport Director Vinod Sharma admitted that the visitors’ toilet was far away from the terminal building as it was constructed long ago. There are 40 urinals each for men and women and it is kept open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and they were being cleaned regularly.
“I will talk to the Commissioner of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) and seek his cooperation in setting up two e-toilets near the terminal building for the benefit of visitors. We will get direction boards put up for the benefit of visitors. The toilets inside the building are under renovation,” Mr. Sharma added.
