Bird hit: Civic bodies defensive, IAF begins face-saving act

Chandigarh/Mohali: In what seems to be a face-saving act following the close shave of an Air India flight that was hit by a bird on Tuesday, Indian Air Force (IAF) authorities have decided to convene a meeting with Chandigarh and Mohali authorities to take up the issue of cleanliness around the airport.
Even as agencies entrusted with the task of ensuring cleanliness around the airport were busy blaming each other a day after 153 passengers on board the Air India fight had a near-disaster experience, an internal probe to investigate exact cause behind the incident and to work out ways to avoid fatalities in future has been marked.
While IAF authorities have tried to shift the onus by claiming that they have been writing to the civic bodies of Mohali and Chandigarh expressing concern over mass garbage being dumped at an adjoining wall of the airbase, both GMADA and Chandigarh MC maintained that the mess was on other's territory. A senior official of Chandigarh MC stated that a letter received from 3BRD was forwarded to GMADA as the "problem was in its territory."
While illegal encroachments in Jagatpura village of Mohali district continued to mushroom, local authorities claimed that the area does not fall under Mohali Municipal Council as part of it lies in the jurisdiction of GMADA and the remaining was supposed to be looked after by Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.
Sources stated that the trouble started two years ago, when liquor vends were allowed to come up near the surroundings of Chandigarh Airport. Subsequently, several meat shops mushrooming due to these alcohol outlets have been using an open area along the airport as dumping ground. This invites a large number of scavengers like eagles, kites and vultures near the airbase.
09/09/10 Times of India

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Categories: Air India Domestic Sep 2010, airports Sep 2010, NACIL Sep 2010, Safety Sep 2010