Slums obstruct AAI checks for flight safety

The garbage lying in front of the gate attracts crows, pariah kites and other birds, exposing to high danger the low-level flights landing on Runway 27 — the main runway — from the Jari Mari end.

Top AAI officials said they could not comment as only the public relations officer at the New Delhi headquarters was authorised to speak with the press. However, a senior officer said the municipal container had been deliberately kept outside the gate as work was on within the boundary walls of the airport.

“With the assistance of the BMC, the AAI is trying to keep the airport garbage-free in order to reduce the bird menace. However, ever-mushrooming slums have made the task difficult,” the official said, adding that countless requests have been made to the state government to reduce the number of illegal slums near the airport.

A resident of Mohammed Rafi Nagar in Jari Mari, Sajid Naseem, remarked: “The AAI had also displayed a notice on the emergency gate to educate the public on the hazards of bird hits, but someone tore it off. In fact, just beyond the emergency gate are approach lights to signal the pilot about the approaching runway. But even here the slum children can be seen playing cricket amid high-voltage lights.” Guards belonging to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security have to chase away the playing children and other trespassers during their rounds of the area. Eight years ago, a part of the Shastri Nagar slums was also reportedly removed with the help of the state government as it interfered with the approach lights.

Interestingly, six of the approach lights have been placed within the precincts of a Sunni graveyard which has existed at Jari Mari for the last 45 years. “Earlier some of the tree branches in the graveyard were found to be interfering with the approach lights, so we had to trim them to ensure pilots got a clear view of the lights,” a worker at the graveyard said.