No animal hit at Nagpur airport for two years

Nagpur: No animal hit has been recorded at Nagpur airport for two years in a row. According to the figures given by MIHAN India Limited (MIL), the airport operator, there have been zero animal hits in 2013 and 2014. The main reason for this might be the installation of solar fences around the runway of the airport.
Following the animal hit incident at Surat airport, according to news reports, Nagpur was featured in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) list of airports hit worst by ‘wildlife strikes’, which also included bird hits along with stray animal incidents.While there have been bird hits around the airport, animal incident has gone down to zero. Together, in 2013 and 2014, there have been eight bird hit cases at Nagpur airport.
“There have been no animal hits in the recent past. We have taken utmost care to ensure this. Apart from the solar fence sealing off the runway, we also have animal chasers. We also maintain the perimeter walls to ensure that no animal gets inside the operational area. We also had the forest department comb for deer in our premises last year,” said P Anil Kumar, senior airport director, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur.
The authorities source most of the bird hit incidents to the many butcheries which have mushroomed around the periphery of the airport and the adjoining areas. According to airport safety rules, open butcheries are not supposed to be allowed in a 10km radius around airport. Airport sources told TOI that during the environmental committee meetings which are held with the city administration, this issue is constantly raised.
“There was one a few months back. The civic authorities do clear these illegal butcheries which pose a threat to aviation security, but they seem to crop up again and again,” said Kumar. To try and tackle the possible bird menace, the airport authorities have Zon guns which make a loud booming sound at regular intervals to scare away the birds.