ICTA urged to ban offal dumping near airports

Entrails of sacrificial animals attract scavenging birds

ISLAMABAD:

Dumping offal near airports can cause bird strikes to aeroplanes, endangering aircraft taking off or landing at these facilities and heightening risks of an accident.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Tuesday has asked the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) to stop people from dumping offal and leftovers of sacrificial animals near airports.

Scavenging birds are attracted to the offal and gather in great numbers to feed, increasing the threat of birds striking the aircraft or getting ingested in the engine and jamming it.

The Islamabad administration is considering implementing the ban on dumping offal and entrails of the slaughtered animals around the Islamabad International Airport (IIA) and Noor Khan Airbase.

Environmental health problems of open waste dumping

Sources informed The Express Tribune that the CAA has formally written to the district administration on Tuesday, asking it to control dumping offal and garbage near airports.

According to CAA officials, the measure has been taken for the safety of passengers as the waste attracts birds around the flying zone.

The district administration is considering the CAA’s recommendations and is expected to issue a detailed order against the activity next week.

Locals will be warned that their negligence could cost several passengers their lives. Sources added that the administration will also take punitive action against violators.

It informed that a special squad of the Rawalpindi Waste Management Company (RWMC) will be deployed in the areas near the IIA and Noor Khan Airbase to pick up leftovers of the sacrificial animals.

The CAA will also deploy snipers to shoot down the birds to avoid any untoward incident during Eidul Azha.

The air traffic control has also been provided with special guidelines for this purpose.

WSSP warns Peshawar hospitals against dumping waste​​​​​​​

The CAA had earlier pointed out six major garbage sites in the area around the airports which have become major sources of attraction for scavenging birds.

The open space right in front of the runway, in particular, poses a serious threat to flight safety, with dozens of small and large garbage dumps to set up here.

A large number of scavenging birds can be seen hovering over the garbage.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2020.