To protect Rafale from bird-hits, Ambala admn told to clean up litter near IAF base

Almost a month after five Rafale jets landed at the Indian Air Force (IAF) Station here, the urban local bodies director has written to the district administration to reduce the presence of garbage around the air base.

The garbage leads to “high concentration of birds” in the 10-km zone which has the potential to cause “very serious damage to the aircraft”, the letter says.

This has come after Air Marshal Manavendra Singh, the director general (inspection and safety) of the IAF, wrote to Haryana chief secretary Keshni Anand Arora, apprising her of the issue and demanding civil administration support on solid waste management near the air force base.

The letter mentions that three meetings have taken place between the IAF officials and the municipal corporation on reducing the garbage around the station, and “to protect the fighter aircraft”, the administration should “implement solid waste management scheme to curb the activity of large birds like black kites in the aerodrome zone of 10-km around Ambala airfield”.

“This would involve institution of littering penalty, improvement in garbage collection and setting up of a solid waste management plant...and control of pigeon breeding,” the letter reads.

Acknowledging the letter, deputy commissioner Ashok Kumar Sharma said the orders will be implemented.

It is pertinent to mention here that earlier last year, a bird had collided mid-air with an aircraft, after which extra fuel tanks were dropped in an Ambala village. However, no injury was reported.

The order also gathers importance as the Rafale fighter jets that landed on July 29 are expected to be formally inducted on September 10 in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh.