E-Paper
Chain-link fencing to help Hindon airstrip become nilgai-proof
The runway of the Hindon airbase will now be fenced to protect aircrafts from Nilgai or blue bulls (Boselaphus tragocamelus). The district magistrate said that funds
The runway of the Hindon airbase will now be fenced to protect aircrafts from Nilgai or blue bulls (Boselaphus tragocamelus). The district magistrate said that funds have been received for taking up chain-link fencing to protect the airstrip.
As per the estimates of the forest department officials, there are around 300-350 blue bulls inside the airbase, which also has a blue bull habitat inside it. An adult Nilgai weighs around 100-130kg and the animal can move at a speed of 30-40kmph, officials said.
During a meeting with the officials of the civil terminal at Sikandarpur, the district magistrate had asked them to coordinate with the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and expedite the project of fencing.
“The funds have been received from the Union civil aviation ministry and the officials have been asked to expedite the work. The chain fencing will be done around the airstrip to protect aircrafts from Nilgai invasion. Since the domestic flights are also operating from the Hindon airbase, the airstrip needs to be protected by a fence,” district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said.
The proposal for the fencing project was sent to the state civil aviation department in June last year. The civil terminal at Sikandarpur, near the Hindon airbase, operates flights to Hubli and Pithoragarh with the help of private airlines and more air routes are expected to become operational soon.
officials from UP forest department, WWF-India and Wildlife Trust of India had survey the Hindon airbase and in the state assembly’s winter season of 2018-19 the results were shared, forest department officials said, adding that fencing the airstrip was one of the highlighted points from the survey.
“The survey was done to tackle the issue of invasion by Nilgai, which are in abundance inside the airbase and pose potential threat to aircraft. The survey had highlighted habitat management of Nilgai, chain fencing, population control and even translocation. The recommendations could not be carried out but chain fencing was one of the vital points which got highlighted in the survey,” divisional forest officer Diksha Bhandari said.
In wildlife conservation, translocation requires capturing, transporting and release/introduction of species, habitats or other ecological material from one location to another. “The survey recommended that Nilgai be translocated to Tilpata in Gautam Budh Nagar, but could not materialise,” she added.
In order to provide other facilities from the new civil terminal, the district magistrate has also directed the UP Roadways to initiate bus service for air passengers.
“The officials have told us that a bus service will be introduced from second week of March. The bus will take passengers from civil terminal to nearest metro stations in Ghaziabad to travel further to their destinations. The route will be connected to metro stations at Mohan Nagar, Vaishali and Kaushambi,” he added.
