Kathmandu, January 30

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has directed the Office of Kathmandu Metropolitan City to strictly prohibit operation of slaughterhouses or sale of meat within 3 km radius of the Tribhuvan International Airport.

Though the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal Rules prohibits open butchery or sale of meat within three kilometres of the sole international airport of the country to distract birds that are hazardous to air safety, the authorities concerned have failed to enforce the law.

“Bird menace is on the rise in and around the airport due to non-implementation of the legal provision that prohibits operation of slaughterhouses within 3 km radius of the airport,” read an inspection and monitoring report released by the anti-graft body yesterday.

Airport authorities have recorded nearly 100 incidents of bird strike, most of them in TIA, in the last 15 years. There is an Airport Bird Control and Reduction Committee under the TIA but it has also not been able to deter the birds.

Operation of meat shops and open butchery has been blamed for many bird strike incidents during take-off of aircraft in and around the TIA.

The CIAA has also directed the KMC to manage the height of skyscrapers located to the south of the runway. A report recently submitted to the KMC had recommended the metropolis to demolish parts of six high-rise buildings, which have raised concerns among aviation authorities over potential risks they could pose to fight safety in Koteshwor area. According to the report, some parts of these buildings exceed the Obstacle Limitation Surface.

A KMC official said the metropolis will set a time-frame for owners to demolish parts of their buildings on their own as recommended by the report. If they fail to comply with KMC directives, the metropolis will demolish them itself, warned the official.