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| Fly in the ointment |
Bhubaneswar, Jan. 8: Bird menace remains a problem at Biju Patnaik Airport with the Odisha Forest Development Corporation, entrusted by the civic body with the task of cutting trees around the area, failing to do a proper job.
Airport director Sharad Kumar said: “The bird population near Gandamunda remains an issue. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation had entrusted the forest development corporation with the task of pruning trees near the airport. But, the second phase never started.”
The bird menace has put the administration in a quandary. The new domestic terminal at the city airport becomes functional by January 26 and international operations begin from March. Municipal commissioner Sanjib Kumar Mishra said: “In the first phase, the forest development corporation was given Rs 67,300 for tree-cutting. But there was a condition that the Airports Authority of India should vet their utilisation certificate. However, as the Phase-I certificate is pending, its next estimation of Rs 30,000 for Phase-II has not been granted.”
“The corporation officials should immediately submit their certificate,” Mishra said. On December 30, an Indigo flight from New Delhi overshot the runway after noticing a flock of birds on its flight path near the landing zone.
An official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) told The Telegraph: “In 2009, there were six cases of birds hitting aircraft, which went up to 16 in 2010. The number shot up to 22 in 2011. However, in 2012 just nine cases were reported.”
Regarding the civic body’s steps to prevent bird menace at the airport, Mishra said: “At Pokhariput, 38 shops selling non-vegetarian food items were razed. A portion of the Dumduma-Jadupur stretch, used as a dumping ground for animal carcasses, has been converted to a road. In December, 80 dogs were sterilised in areas near the airport. A biscuit factory near Gandamunda was closed down and the revenue department will shortly acquire the land through the Khurda district collector.”
A city health office employee said: “The airport is a garbage generator and most of it constitutes food materials. But strangely, the AAI has not subscribed to the civic body’s express cleaning service, which assures dedicated garbage cleaning on a daily basis.”
A state government official said: “The AAI is also a profit-making body, and they should have spent something on the cleanliness and pruning of trees around the airport. The forest development corporation, too, can take up the task as its social responsibility and should not depend solely on the civic body for funds.”
The state government is also planning to relocate slums around the city airport.