Bird hit:AAI asks Goa govt to clean garbage heaps near airport

Days after a Delhi-bound Air India flight with 164 passengers on board had to abort its take-off due to a bird hit at Goa airport, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has asked the state government to remove garbage heaps lying around the facility.
The litter lying strewn across several places near the airport attracts birds.
AAI officials, who held emergency meeting with the state government at Vasco airport in Goa last week, identified several places where garbage is being dumped.
Goa Airport Director K S Rao told PTI today that local Panchayat has been asked to clear a garbage heap lying in the funnel area (airspace used to take off or land).

"It was not a garbage dump as such but people had thrown garbage on the roadside which turned into the heap. We have informed the local panchayat to clear it off," said Rao.
The Delhi-bound flight via Mumbai had suffered bird hit on November 18. After the incident, the plane had its tyres burst as pilot applied emergency brakes.

Rao said he will hold a review meeting in the next couple of days with authorities concerned to verify that garbage is removed.
The AAI has also instructed that garbage within the airport complex be cleared immediately.
The issue about bird hit incidents on airports across the country also figured in the Parliamentary session.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mahesh Sharma had informed Lok Sabha that the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) had taken several steps to ensure safety of aircrafts from birds and wildlife.
A high power National Bird Control Committee has been set up by the Government this regard, besides the airfield Environment Management Committee at every airport where scheduled flights operate, the minister had said.