Visakhapatnam: Air planes at the city airport are prone to bird strikes due to the water channels and meat shops nearby. This was noted by members of the airfield management committee of Visakhapatnam Airport and officials from INS Dega who approached the district administration two weeks back.
They raised the issue of the meat shops and a dumping yard in the vicinity of the airport as well as the water channels. The INS Dega officials urged the collector to discuss the issue with the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) and Irrigation department officials to divert the water to some other area.
The authorities have concluded that cleanliness of the surroundings of the airport has to be ensured as the bird hits the aircraft during take-off or landing phase mostly around an altitude of 900 to 1,000 ft.
Moreover, the rains create pools of water in the narrow flood channels around the airport in which fishes start breeding. The presence of fish in the channels attracts birds, increasing the risk of bird-hits.
The meat market area above which the flight traffic routes also poses the main challenge. The meat market committees in the airport area and also at Convent junction are being asked to cover up the market area properly and to not dump meat wastes in open, but no one is heeding to the directions.
The environmental management committee which consists of air traffic control officials of the Indian Navy, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, Airports Authority of India (AAI) meets once in three months to review the safety measures and is chaired by the district collector.
