The Indian Navy has been proactive in raising a commotion about the garbage dumps in close vicinity of Dabolim Airport. The Navy is also taking up the case with all civil, municipal and panchayat bodies and has been trying to put forward the danger of having these dumps close to an air strip as they can attract a number of birds, making it a danger to aircraft arriving and exiting the airport. “There have been a number of incidents that have occurred off late. The incidents are getting more and more regular,” informed Capt N Thiagarajan, who is in charge of operations at INS Hansa.
“Open dumps close to the airfield and especially the dump at the Municipal Solid Waste Management Plant at Headland Sada, located less than 2 miles from the airfield attract a lot of birds. Similarly, we have open dumps at various other locations in the vicinity causing accidents,” the Capt added.
In order to avoid such incidences, Naval officers run special vehicles along the runway before take off to ensure it is clear. Naval authorities also take other measures to scare birds away. They use a Zon gun which makes a firing noise every minute to deter birds from coming close. Sprays are uses to kill worms along the edge of the runway as the worms are food for birds. Various other tools have also been kept near the runway to prevent the avians from causing havoc.
“Besides using tools, we also visually inspect the air strip to ensure that both naval, as well as civilian aircraft take off and land safely. The only way to solve the issue completely would be to eradicate the dumps around. In that way, there would be no birds,” he noted.
According to Naval records, many bird hits have occurred in the last year but there were three major ones that have resulted in damage to the aircraft. “The incidents have been classified as major because they involved grounding of the aircraft. Besides, extensive damage in the engines had to be mended. Two Air India and one Air Asia aircraft were involved in these incidents. Apart from these, there have been others but not with such serious consequence. Bird hits happen every other day. The primary thing is the safety of people and these aircraft have been touching down and leaving safely. We feel that everyone needs to contribute. Navy officials alone cannot ensure a bird free environment,” Thiagarajan told Herald.
