Excerpt from DNA by Hetal Vyas & Naveeta Singh on April 8, 2010: Read Full Article
The next time you fly in or out of Mumbai, your safety’s not only in the hands of the pilot but also the bird that may obstruct your plane’s path. A Right to Information (RTI) query has revealed that the Deonar dumping ground, which is about 8km from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), is one of the main reasons for bird hits at the airport. The slaughter houses in the vicinity of the airport have always known to be the cause of bird hits, which pose a grave threat to lives of passengers.
Taking note of the increasing number of bird hits at CSIA — 13 in 2009 and 3 so far this year — Datta Mane, an advocate, has moved the Bombay high court seeking directives for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to revoke all slaughter house licences. In the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Mane, he also wants the Deonar dumping ground to be shifted from its current location.
