Waterlogging at IGI, New Runway Flooded

New Delhi: The problem of hovering endlessly before touching down at Delhi's choked airport may not end even after the inauguration of the third runway on Thursday. Due to lack of a proper drainage network, the new runway has been getting waterlogged, a problem which DIAL recently took up with the DGCA and Airports Authority of India.
The problem lies not only in the waterlogging , but also in the fact that the lights on the runway cannot be switched on till they dry up since it could cause a short circuit . The problem is severe on the taxiways.
According to Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL) officials, heavy rain in the past few days led to flooding of the storm-water drain. The only permanent solution to this is a sewage treatment plant (STP) which is to be constructed by the Delhi Jal Board. With no signs of the STP coming up for another two years, DDA has cleared DIAL's pending application for pumping the water into the Dwarka drain.
DIAL had a meeting with DGCA and AAI officials on Monday over the issue. Officials say the issue has been sorted out and there is no problem with the runway which will host its first flight on Thursday. However, the problem of waterlogging at the runway has been persistent for a while. The STP, that is necessary to control flooding at the site of the new runway, being planned for the villages of - Kapas Hera, Mahipalpur, Rajokri, Rangpuri and Sambhalka at Kapas Hera - has been cleared, but work for the same is yet to be awarded. Once this is done, it will take a minimum of 15 months for it to be constructed, revealed DJB sources.
22/08/08 Neha Lalchandani/RedOrbit, USA

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Categories: Airports Aug 2008, New Aug 2008