By IANS,
New Delhi : Illegal slaughterhouses causing bird hits to aircraft at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here would be shut down before the third runway – longest in Asia – becomes operational this month, a top official said Wednesday.
Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla, who reviewed the problem of bird menace at the airport, said the issue would be taken up with the local administration very soon to expedite the action.
It was decided that illegal slaughterhouses needed to be shut down and more organized waste disposal mechanism needed to be put in place.
Illegal slaughterhouses have been identified at Dwarka, Indira Market in R.K. Puram, Mehram Nagar, Sadar Bazar, Dabri Mod and Ghazipur.
Delhi airport has witnessed a spate of bird hits in recent months. A major tragedy was averted at the airport July 24 after an Air Mauritius flight caught fire, reportedly after being hit by a bird. All 241 passengers on board and 11 crew members were safely evacuated.
On June 14, a Kingfisher flight carrying Railways Minister Lalu Prasad was aborted following a bird-hit.
Chawla held a meeting with officials of the Delhi airport developer, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), on adopting best practices to deal with the bird menace.
DIAL has been asked to take help from the Indian Air Force and other expert agencies.
Civil aviation ministry officials expect that all identified illegal slaughterhouses would be closed before the new 4,430-metre runway is opened for commercial operations. Its trial run begins Aug 21.