Bengaluru: The vertical development in North Bengaluru has now become a source of worry for the Indian Air Force at Yelahanka Training Base as high rises around the Yelahanka Air Force Station threatens to hamper the landing and take offs of aircrafts. Urbanisation in the last few years has also increased the bird population around the airfield.
Group Captain Amit Pushkar, the chief operational officer at the Yelahanka Base, told reporters that IAF had a meeting with Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) officials to discuss if anything could be done to address the issue. Besides operating as a training airfield, the Yelahanka Air Force Station is also venue for the biennial air show, Aero India.
So far the airfield has witnessed 10 editions of prestigious air show. When asked about the talks over changing the venue of Aero India from Yelahanka, the officer maintained that so far there were no such plans to move out the air show. In 2011, the officials from the Ministry of Defence had noted that the rate in which the high-rises are coming up around the airfield it could hamper the flying of fighter aircraft during the air shows.
“Yelahanka airbase is most suited for holding air shows and carry out regular (both day and night) training for the pilots. But the real estate development around the airfield has become a reason for worry. As the airport is located towards Devanahalli it is estimated that in the coming years North Bengaluru will see more numbers of tall buildings. As flying of fighter aircraft, which happens during the air show, requires large open spaces, one cannot take the risk of flying such planes over densely populated area,” said an official from the IAF.
The increase in buildings in and around Yelahanka is also posing issues with the solid waste that is generated. Officials at the Yelahanka Base point out that bird numbers have increased in the last few years along with the urbanization.
Aviation experts hint that the reasons such as high-rise and birds flying on the flight path could go against Bengaluru’s claim to retain the air show event. Recently the state government has written a letter to MoD seeking its stand on the talks about shifting the venue of the air show. However MoD has clarified that there are no plans of shifting the venue as of now. “The Yelahanka airbase has all required infrastructure to organize the air show,” the official said.
