Jackal menace: officials survey Kolkata airport runway

Kolkata: Frequent spotting of jackals and dogs on the runway of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport by pilots during landing has prompted the Airports Authority of India (AAI) here to seek the assistance of the State’s wildlife officials in controlling the menace.
A team comprising four members from the wildlife wing of the State’s forest department recently did a survey of the runway and the adjacent land to assess the situation. “We did not find any dog or jackal in the airport premises but will certainly take measures if we find their presence in the compound,” divisional forest officer Rathin Banerjee said here on Wednesday.
“A formal request was made to the wildlife wing of the State’s forest department to look into the matter as AAI is not empowered to kill or catch the jackals,” an AAI official added.
The official blamed the grasslands in the airport compounds and the open markets along its boundary as reasons for such a high concentration of jackals and birds. “There are around 25 jackals and several dogs living within the airport compound now,” he said.
24/07/08 Raktima Bose/The Hindu

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Categories: Airports Jul 2008, Safety Jul 2008