Trees, hoardings, mobile towers: Airport identifies 292 risks for flight operations
Times of India | 11 November 2024
123 Kolkata: From overhead water tanks to coconut trees, and mobile towers to hoardings on tall buildings, the Airports Authority of India listed a slew of obstacles within the approach funnel of the Kolkata airport, posing challenges to the safety and efficiency of aircraft operations.
The Kolkata airport authorities, on Saturday, presented the list of 292 such obstructions charted in an Obstacle Limitation Surfaces (OLS) survey before civic and state officials in the recent Airfield Environment Management Committee meeting, asking the authorities to take appropriate action. In aviation parlance, OLS are defined as a series of surfaces in the airspace around airports that outline limits for the height and placement of obstacles to ensure an aircraft can fly safely during the initial and final stages of flight, or when manoeuvring near the airport.
According to the report submitted before the committee, there were 377 such obstructions in 2022 in six civic areas of Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC), New Town Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (NKDA), Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Madhyamgram Municipal Corporation (MMC), New Barrackpore Municipality (NBM), and North Dum Dum Municipality (NDM).
"So far, 85 obstructions have been removed. BMC has the most number of obstructions in the form of trees, dish antennae, hoardings, lamp posts, high mast lights, chimneys, water tanks, under-construction buildings and other buildings. There are also other obstructions, like lightning arresters, TV towers and mobile towers, all of which are in the approach funnel," said an airport official.
According to the report, there are 167 obstructions in the BMC area, 99 in the MMC area and 16 in the NBM area. NKDA, KMC and NDM have 6, 2, and 2 respectively. Authorities have repeatedly complained of buildings and structures that either flouted the height norms or installed cell towers or hoardings that breach the maximum permitted height in the flight path.
In Feb, the airport raised the issue of illegal and dangerous structures around the airport before state home secretary Nandini Chakravorty. She asked authorities of Madhyamgram Municipality to act on complaints of illegal co-nstruction atop buildings that pose obstacles in the flight pa-th. In the current report, the authorities shared pictures and descriptions of the obstacles. Chakravorty, who chaired the meeting on Saturday, promised to look into the issue and speak to civic body representatives to address the same.