Bhubaneswar, Nov. 12: A plan is on to divert the course of a major drain near the airport boundary wall. The channel has been attracting birds near the runway.

The public works department (PWD) and the water resources department are working together on the project, which intends to stop the inflow of water into the airport compound from the Baramunda side during monsoon.

The water from Soubhagya Nagar (phase I and phase II), agriculture university farm and nearby areas enter the airport and damage the boundary wall in the process.

"Though there is a small drain near the road, the water from the nearby areas flows along the drain and directly hits the airport boundary wall. The inflow has broken it on several occasions. We have been regularly raising the issue at the monthly Airport Environment Management Committee. With water gushing into the airport, birds are also attracted to the pool of accumulated water," airport director Sharad Kumar told The Telegraph.

The airport boundary wall had collapsed in July following heavy rainfall. Following the incident, Kumar had first raised the issue at the committee meeting on August 19, which was chaired by the chief secretary.

"The rainwater flowing from Baramunda and Soubhagya Nagar is causing the damage, and last month, a portion of the boundary wall collapsed. The excess water of the drain accumulates in the land used for farming, thus creating a pool of water. This also attracts birds, which causes problems in flight movement," Kumar had told the meeting.

Chief engineer, roads, PWD, B.C. Pradhan said: "The rainwater coming from the areas between Soubhagya Nagar and the airport boundary wall is getting accumulated at the airport because there is no outlet. First, the accumulated water level is much below that of the drain. Second, there is a blockade after the watchtower. We need to provide a continuous passage of the low-lying drainage by creating a passage and link it with the drainage channel No. 8 that passes through farmland beyond the airport boundary wall."

"The drainage of the low-lying catchment area near the road is something that the drainage division of the water resources department has to sort out, and we have already made a field visit. The final report will be given to the state government within a day or two," The PWD chief engineer said.

Soubhagya Nagar resident Jasaswini Mohapatra said: "The PWD and the water resources department should have worked together on the drainage of the area when the road was built four years ago."

The chief engineer said: "We are yet to estimate the cost of the project because it needs another session with the drainage department people. We many need extra land from the seed production centre to allow the drain to connect to the drainage channel No. 8 nearby."