Attracts birds increasing chances of bird-hit as planes land or take-off
KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 28
Non-cooperation from local bodies, negligence on part of the airport management, and public's indifference have exacerbated the garbage problem in the vicinity of Tribhuvan International Airport, putting air safety at risk as birds, which are a threat to planes taking off or landing, are attracted by the waste.
Stakeholders have long been stressing the need to keep TIA surroundings, including Bagmati and Manahara river banks, clean by discouraging people from dumping garbage there and making people aware of the environmental hazards to prevent bird menace at the airport.
However, garbage has been piling up outside TIA, which is surrounded by Kathmandu metropolis' Wards No 7, 8, 9 and 32; Ward No 3 of Madhyapur Thimi Municipality, Wards No 6, 7, and 9 of Kageshwori Manahara Municipality and Mahalaxmi Municipality of Lalitpur.
Ward No 7 of KMC and Ward No 3 of MTM do not touch the airport fencing, but are on the banks of Bagmati and Manohara rivers that flow just a couple of hundred feet from TIA and attract birds as people dump garbage in rivers.
Nabaraj Parajuli, chair of Ward 32 of KMC that covers areas such as Jadibuti and Pepsicola, where garbage keeps piling, said he was not aware of the garbage piling in the area. "I will look into the matter and ask authorities to do the needful," Parajuli told THT. He blamed people for throwing garbage in open spaces instead of using KMC's waste management system.
KMC Ward No 9 Chair Ram Krishna Shrestha said he was not aware of waste being accumulated in the ward.
Airline operators, meanwhile, have demanded that the authorities concerned establish a waste management system along the banks of the Bagmati River.
TIA authorities, meanwhile passed the buck on to local communities, saying that they should play a greater and more effective role to keep their area clean.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 29 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
