Curation Team
KOLKATA: Unauthorised high-rises, water tanks, mobile towers, and lightning arresters are among multiple obstacles flagged by Kolkata airport authorities as threats to flights moving into and out of the city.
“In the latest Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) study, which analyses obstacles around an airport that could interfere with flight operations and pose a threat to safety, 377 hazards were identified in the flight path. Of these, 90 obstacles, like light posts, hoardings, and tall trees were removed. However, several other serious obstacles, including buildings with unauthorised floors and tanks that have encroached into the flight path, need to be removed. We submitted a list to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and are awaiting the order,” an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said.
Of particular concern are high-rise residential buildings that have come up in Narayanpur adjoining the airport, and in Kaikhali and New Town that are directly in the take-off funnel.
The issue was discussed in the Airfield Environment Management Committee (AEMC) meeting on May 23, chaired by state home secretary Nandini Chakravorty. Among those present were Bidhannagar police commissioner Mukesh Kumar and representatives from PWD, the urban development department, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC), and neighbouring municipalities.
The largest type of obstacles identified were buildings — 118 of them. Of these, only 15 cases were addressed by demolishing the floor that encroached on the airspace. “The 103 obstacles still remain, including a site in Kaikhali that was constructed away from the site for which it was granted permission, leading to the infringement,” the airport official said.
The issue assumes added d urgency in the wake of the plane crash at Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. Though the Dreamliner aircraft lost altitude after take-off due to either engine failure, pilot error, or aerodynamic stalls, the incident has brought the threat from obstacles at Kolkata airport into focus.
The OLS study also flagged concern about lightning arresters in Rajarhat and New Town, hoardings near BT College More, and mobile towers in Michaelnagar and New Ba-rrackpore. Even pruning tall trees that impinge into airspace is a challenge, with municipal authorities citing delays in obtaining forest department authorisation. Civic bodies in and around the airport have asked Kolkata airport to provide GPS coordinates for trees marked for pruning. Madhyamgram municipality and Rohanda gram panchayat have removed 52 tall trees.
