Odisha govt directs to check bird hit menace at Bhubaneswar airport

Highlights

• Airport Environment Management Committee discussed the action plan for coming six months to bring down bird-hit cases at the Bhubaneswar Airport.

Bhubaneswar (Odisha): The Odisha government on Saturday directed the concerned authorities to bring down bird-hit cases at Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar here.

Reviewing the steps taken so far to check bird hit menace, chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi directed BMC, Odisha State Forest Development Corporation, OUAT, Police and Airport authorities to keep up the risk management efforts to make the city airport environment safe.

The action plan for coming six months of the airport was discussed at the Airport Environment Management Committee meeting here.

The issues relating to bird menace, filling of the ponds adjoining the airport boundary wall, revamping of the drainage system connecting the airfield, pruning of the trees surrounding the airport,  increasing public health and hygiene habits in the nearby slum area were discussed.

Available data shows that the number of bird hits in last 5 years has been arrested to a large extent. The airline operators present at the meeting also expressed satisfaction over the measures taken so far.

The number of bird hits incidents in the airport vicinity was around 19 in 2011 which has been brought down to 11 in 2016. Out of these cases, many were small bird hit incidences having very fewer security concerns. In the meanwhile, two modern types of equipment have been put in the airport for flittering away the birds from the airfield.