Avian menace: A perilous offshoot of the garbage crisis

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Yet another perspective on the rising ‘garbage menace’ in the capital city!

The presence of garbage in the environs of Thiruvananthapuram international airport poses a grave threat to flight safety.

The presence of meat and fish stalls in Sulaiman Street, Ponnara Bridge Road, All Saints College area, Sanghumughom beach, Muttathara, and Kochuveli station road along with five garbage dumps at Bangladesh colony playground, Ponnara Bridge, behind Bhima Masjid, Vallakadavu, and Cheriyathura puts the aircraft landing and taking off at the grave menace of bird strike as they offer a fertile ground for birds.

The observations of Airfield Environment Management Committee (AEMC) made during an inspection were presented at a recent meeting.

The pleas of AAI to the city Corporation to check illegal dumping of garbage in the three-km buffer zone and to close down illegal fish and meat stalls within a 10-km radius of the airport remains unheeded.

The AAI has adopted measures like deploying ‘bird-scarers’ equipped with crackers along the perimeter wall, spraying of insecticides, installing pigeon-proof hangars for the terminal buildings, proper collection and disposal of garbage and regular inspection of the operational area.