Increased Bird Strike Risk at Dehradun Airport Due to Dumping Zones

&NewLine;<p>September 20&comma; 2023 – Dehradun Airport faces an escalating threat of bird strikes during take-off and landing operations&period; After six months of research&comma; the Wildlife Institute has concluded that the dumping zones in Kansaro and Keshavpuri Basti areas pose a significant risk as birds from these areas frequently fly at considerable altitudes&comma; potentially colliding with aircraft and leading to major accidents&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Both of these locations fall within the flight path of the aircraft during landing and takeoff&period; Local authorities have proposed relocating the dumping zones to mitigate the risk&period; Dehradun Airport is surrounded by dense forests on three sides&comma; with Rajaji National Park in close proximity&comma; and the presence of dumping zones in the area exacerbates the problem&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>These dumping zones serve as disposal sites for deceased animals&comma; which can attract scavenger birds to the area&period; In addition&comma; hunters often abandon their prey inside the forest&comma; leading to a significant presence of large birds of prey in the vicinity&period; If these birds collide with aircraft&comma; it can lead to potentially disastrous consequences&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The airport authorities are deeply concerned about this issue&period; The airport has raised this matter multiple times in meetings of the Environmental Committee&period; The district administration has also been informed of the situation&comma; but the status quo remains unchanged&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><strong>The Most Dangerous Areas Identified<&sol;strong>&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-list">&NewLine;<li>The dumping zone near Keshavpuri Basti by the banks of the Song River in Doiwala&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li>The Kansaro Range area in Rajaji National Park&period;<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Bird Deterrent Devices Being Considered<&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>In light of the bird strike incidents at the airport&comma; during operational hours&comma; ten to twelve personnel use zone guns and bird laser guns to emit loud noises and reflective ribbons to deter birds&period; Now&comma; the airport administration is in the process of acquiring a new device&period; This device will emit various sounds simultaneously to disperse the birds effectively&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<blockquote class&equals;"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&NewLine;<p>The Wildlife Institute&comma; after six months of study&comma; has identified these two locations as the ones with the highest bird movement&period; Various measures are being taken to reduce the risk of bird strikes&period; The acquisition of the new device is one of the steps to address this concern&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<cite>Prabhakar Mishra&comma; Airport Director&comma; Dehradun Airport&period;<&sol;cite><&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;

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