THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To address the waste menace near the Thiruvananthapuram airport, the city corporation has installed streetlights around the boundary walls of the airport. Twenty streetlights have been installed from Ponnara bridge to Air India Nagar. As per the guidelines issued by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the lights are put up at a height below the compound wall of the airport.
The issue of dumping of waste from households and meat shops had remained unresolved despite repeated pleas from the AAI. The area had turned into a dumpyard with huge quantities of meat and poultry waste in large gunny bags. The accumulation of waste had also resulted in attracting scavenger birds thus leading to ‘bird hits’, affecting the movement of the flights operating from the airport.
The streetlight project costing `3 lakh has been implemented under the Peoples’ Plan programme of the city corporation and will be officially inaugurated on Wednesday by Mayor K Sreekumar. “Over the years, all kinds of waste were being dumped around the airport. Though a night squad was deployed by the city corporation to keep a check on miscreants, the practice continues. Airport authorities said the flights were affected due to the birds scavenging on the waste near the boundary wall. So, we came up with a permanent solution by installing streetlights,” said the Mayor.
Further beautification
He said the city corporation is planning to set up aerobic bins in selected spots. Beautification of the areas where garbage is being dumped is also part of the project. The Mayor said that a material recovery facility will also be set up in the airport area to control the waste menace. Meanwhile, the huge heap of waste piled up at Erumakuzhi is being segregated and cleaned after which the area will be converted into a garden. The Mayor also highlighted that the World Bank recently gave `14.2 crore to the city corporation for the implementation of waste management projects.
According to Vallakkadavu ward councillor Shajida Nazar, huge heaps of poultry waste around the airport area led to a foul smell causing inconvenience to the residents and passersby. “The streetlights were installed in six months with the help of the city corporation. A CCTV camera has also been installed to keep a check and take action against violators,” said Shajida. A proposal for setting up a dialysis unit near the airport area has also been included in the project .
Continuous dumping of poultry waste lures scavengers birds, which cause bird hits
20 streetlights have been installed from Ponnara bridge to Air India Nagar