Just a week after Herald had reported that there exists the danger of bird hits in Dabolim due to garbage being dumped within the airport land, an Air India flight was grounded after a bird came in its way on Tuesday morning. It was a providential escape for those aboard as the pilot was able to abort takeoff and the passengers and crew then deplaned safely.
This is not the first such incident at Dabolim Airport and given the casual manner in which the authorities had responded to the Herald correspondent’s queries on the garbage dump within the airport boundaries when he was working on the story last week, this probably won’t be the last. And birds around the airport is only because of garbage in the vicinity.
Just last month, on October 20, a Mumbai-Goa flight was reportedly held up, after stray dogs were found moving on the runway and taxiway. Herald had taken this up and sounded the warning on its issue dated November 13, but no action was taken on the garbage dump. Compare how the authorities had reacted last week when Herald had pointed out to the fact that people were dumping garbage in the airport and their reaction on Tuesday after the incident that endangered the lives of 171 persons on board the plane.
Last week, when the Herald correspondent had approached the Navy PRO, Com. R Krishan, and pointed out that garbage was being dumped on the western side of the airport and that this was attracting stray dogs into the area, he had said “The entire airport is protected by a compound wall. In addition, watch towers are erected along the airport border and security guards are there to keep a strict watch on the airport to prevent anyone from wandering into the area.” On Tuesday after the bird hit, acting quickly, Airport Director K Srinivasa Rao requested the South Goa collector to convene a meeting to take steps to curb garbage dumping around the airport. Rao also said he would visit the site to take stock of the garbage dump and request those dumping garbage there to stop the practice.
Mere requests may not work in this situation. Stringent action must be taken against those dumping garbage on airport land and in its vicinity. The airport authorities must first determine how garbage dumping, even clandestine, was even allowed to happen within the enclosed land of the airport. If it is that easy to slip past the tight security and dump garbage on airport land, then there exists a major breach in security. Reports keep appearing of Goa being on the terrorist radar because of the large number of tourists it attracts. An installation as important as the airport, which is also a major defence base, cannot have such lax security that allows its land to be turned into a dumping ground for garbage.
By virtue of being a Naval Base, Dabolim not only has civilian aircraft landing and taking off, but a large number of Naval aircraft, including the MiG 29K and Sea Harriers. The security at such an airport should be of a much higher standard.
Garbage at the airport apart, another worry is garbage in the villages surrounding the airport that do not have a treatment plant to manage their waste, and the garbage dump at Taleigao. Though this dump may appear to be a reasonable distance away from Dabolim, it is just across the water body that separates Mormugao from Dona Paula and comes within the 10 km radius of the airport where garbage dumps are prohibited. There are always birds hovering over this dump and this could pose a danger to planes landing at and taking off from Dabolim.
Bird hits are a threat to aviation and Dabolim airport has in the past suffered from many such bird hits. If not for environmental reasons, then at least because bird hits endanger people’s lives, the government should immediately consider setting up treatment plants at the earliest to tackle the garbage problem in the state. This is an issue that has to be dealt with urgently and should involve the government, the airport authorities, the Navy and the local bodies.
