Bhubaneswar: Residents staying around the Biju Patnaik Airport here are up in arms against the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for serving them a notice to chop off about 1,800 trees on the ground that those pose danger to safe aircraft operation.
While the AAI says it is imperative from the passengers’ safety point of view, the locals feel that the move is unwarranted since the trees have been there for long and never did the AAI complain of any problem in the past.
The residents have been given 15 days’ time by the AAI to comply with the order failing which local administration would step in to cut the trees, the cost of which would be borne by the locals.
Interestingly, such a move to fell trees around Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport in Patna had brought the AAI to a confrontation with the Janata Dal (JD) Government last year after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had put his foot down saying that trees in the green belt will not be sacrificed.
The local residents here too are unwilling to do away with the trees saying that felling them is not necessary. “There are so many trees within the airport area besides the plantation undertaken by public sector undertakings and corporate houses,” said a resident of Palashpalli.
20/10/13 New Indian Express
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While the AAI says it is imperative from the passengers’ safety point of view, the locals feel that the move is unwarranted since the trees have been there for long and never did the AAI complain of any problem in the past.
The residents have been given 15 days’ time by the AAI to comply with the order failing which local administration would step in to cut the trees, the cost of which would be borne by the locals.
Interestingly, such a move to fell trees around Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport in Patna had brought the AAI to a confrontation with the Janata Dal (JD) Government last year after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had put his foot down saying that trees in the green belt will not be sacrificed.
The local residents here too are unwilling to do away with the trees saying that felling them is not necessary. “There are so many trees within the airport area besides the plantation undertaken by public sector undertakings and corporate houses,” said a resident of Palashpalli.
20/10/13 New Indian Express
