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Time of India
11 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
Air India plane crash: Bird-attracting sites near airports must be closed, demands animal rights group while flagging past data of Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad
Image credit: PTI NEW DELHI: With investigators looking into if a bird strike, among other reasons, caused an Air India plane crash near the Ahmedabad airport, an animal rights group on Thursday wrote to the director general of civil aviation seeking immediate nationwide enforcement of a rule that prohibits bird-attracting establishments, such as slaughterhouses, meat shops, dairies and garbage dumps, within 10 km of an airport. The People for Animals (PFA) Public Policy Foundation demanded strict compliance of Rule 91 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, at every airport and licensed aerodrome to mitigate the growing bird strike-threat to aviation safety and public life by closing down such establishments. In its letter to the DGCA, flagging the govt's response in Rajya Sabha in 2023, the organisation highlighted the Ahmedabad airport's troubling record that includes 319 documented bird/animal (wildlife) strikes between Jan 2018 and Oct 2023, ranking it the third most-affected airport nationally after Delhi (710) and Mumbai (352). It said in 2023, Ahmedabad reported 81 bird/animal strikes, representing a 107% increase from the previous year. Sharing the data in Rajya Sabha on Dec 18, 2023, the govt had, however, underlined that no plane had crashed due to bird strike in the last five years and only one occurrence had been reported wherein an aircraft made an emergency landing due to bird strike at the Kolkata airport in 2021. Referring to a bird/animal strike data analysis, the govt had told the upper House that the maximum number of strikes occurred during the landing and takeoff phases. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Noting that bird/animal strikes surged from 167 incidents in 2006 to 1,125 in 2022 nationally, the foundation in its letter highlighted that the national bird strike rate in 2022 stood at 9.14 per 10,000 aircraft movements. It was more than double the safety performance target of 4.26 set by the National Aviation Safety Plan 2018-22. The target was reiterated in the subsequent plan too. 'We can't keep calling these tragedies 'unforeseen' when the warnings have been clear for years. The Ahmedabad airport alone had 319 documented incidents, every single one was a red flag,' said Gauri Maulekhi, trustee and member secretary of PFA Public Policy Foundation. The letter to the DGCA also flagged that the recently enacted Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, further emphasises the law by imposing strict penalties of up to three years imprisonment and fines of up to Rs 1 crore for any contravention of Rule 91. Pitching for strict enforcement of the existing laws/rules, Maulekhi said, 'The laws we have aren't suggestions, they are meant to protect people's lives. If these laws had been properly enforced and these establishments had been shut down, maybe this tragedy could have been prevented. It's time the DGCA issues clear, binding orders to states and local authorities to finally address this problem head-on.' The PFA in its letter claimed that slaughterhouses, meat shops, dairies, piggeries and waste dumping sites continue to operate in large numbers within the vicinity of major airports across the country despite the clear statutory prohibition. Citing examples, it said the Jamalpur slaughterhouse and Asarwa fish market are located close to the airport in Ahmedabad. Delhi, which reports the highest cumulative number of bird/animal strikes nationally, is surrounded by more than 500 such establishments as documented in recent surveys and site visitations, it added. 'Similar conditions persist in Mumbai and other major cities, where these activities act as a constant attractant for large populations of scavenging birds and contribute directly to the escalating risk of bird strikes,' PFA said. "We already have clear laws and years of data showing us exactly what the problem is. What we are missing is accountability and enforcement. If we are serious about preventing more tragedies like this, we need immediate action: enforce the law, close these illegal establishments, and publicly track compliance so people can see real progress. That's the only way the public will believe our skies are safe again,' said Mihir Dawar, policy specialist at the Foundation.
Time of India
14 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
Ahmedabad ranks third in bird strikes, 319 incidents recorded in five years; animal rights group flags alarming spike post-deadly crash
NEW DELHI: Just a week after the fatal plane crash near Ahmedabad airport that claimed 270 lives, a prominent animal rights think-tank has raised fresh concerns over bird and wildlife strikes at the city's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, revealing it ranks third in India for such incidents. According to data sourced from a parliamentary response in December 2023, Ahmedabad recorded 319 bird and wildlife strikes between January 2018 and October 2023, trailing only behind Delhi (710) and Mumbai (352). The findings were released by the People For Animals Public Policy Foundation (PFA PPF), the legal and policy arm of the organisation led by BJP MP Maneka Gandhi. While authorities have not confirmed bird strike as the cause of last week's crash, and some experts have ruled it out, PFA PPF says the tragedy should serve as a wake-up call. The group revealed that bird strike incidents at the airport surged by 107% in 2023 alone, signalling a sharp deterioration in aviation safety. "We can't keep calling these tragedies 'unforeseen' when the warnings have been clear for years," said Gauri Maulekhi, Trustee and Member Secretary of the foundation. "Ahmedabad Airport alone had 319 documented incidents, every single one was a red flag." The foundation has now made a formal representation to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), urging immediate enforcement of Rule 91 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Your Finger Shape Says a Lot About Your Personality, Read Now Tips and Tricks Undo The rule prohibits the slaughtering of animals, flaying, and dumping of garbage within a 10-kilometre radius of airports, practices known to attract birds and increase collision risks. Despite the ministry of civil aviation acknowledging as early as 2007 that removing meat shops and open garbage dumps near airports could significantly reduce bird strikes, such establishments continue to operate around major airports, including Ahmedabad. 'We already have the laws and the data. What we're missing is accountability and enforcement,' said Mihir Dawar, a policy expert at PFA PPF. 'If we're serious about preventing more tragedies like this, we need to act now.' Nationally, bird and wildlife strikes have surged from 167 in 2006 to 1,125 in 2022, far exceeding the safety thresholds set by the ministry. With the Ahmedabad crash still under investigation, PFA PPF says it's time to stop treating these incidents as isolated, and start treating them as systemic failures.
Time of India
14 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
Ahmedabad airport a known bird strike hotspot: Animal rights body
Ahmedabad airport recorded 319 bird and wildlife strikes between January 2018 and October 2023, ranking it third after Delhi (710) and Mumbai (352), an animal rights think-tank has revealed. The finding comes a week after the deadly plane crash near the Ahmedabad airport that claimed 270 lives. Though bird-hit has not been identified as the cause behind the crash, some experts have even ruled it out. The People For Animals Public Policy Foundation has claimed that Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport recorded 319 bird and wildlife strikes between January 2018 and October 2023, ranking it third after Delhi and Mumbai. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo The data has been taken from the response to a parliamentary question in December 2023. The outfit said that bird strikes at the airport nearly doubled in 2023, rising 107 per cent from the previous year. Live Events "Nationally, such incidents surged from 167 in 2006 to 1,125 in 2022 - significantly breaching safety targets set by the civil aviation ministry," it said. The outfit said it has sent a formal representation to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), calling for an immediate nationwide enforcement of Rule 91 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, to mitigate the chances of such collisions. Rule 91 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, prohibits the slaughtering and flaying of animals, as well as the depositing of rubbish and other polluting or obnoxious matter, within a 10-kilometre radius of an aerodrome. For years, PAPPF said the Ministry of Civil Aviation has acknowledged that meat shops, slaughterhouses, piggeries, dairies, and open garbage dumps near airports attract birds, heightening the risk of bird strikes. In a 2007 Parliamentary statement, the ministry conceded that "removal of meat shops from the vicinity of airports would definitely reduce bird hit incidents." Yet, these establishments continue to operate around many major Indian airports, including Ahmedabad, in violation of aviation safety rules , it said in a statement. "We can't keep calling these tragedies 'unforeseen' when the warnings have been clear for years. Ahmedabad Airport alone had 319 documented incidents - every single one was a red flag," said Gauri Maulekhi, Trustee and Member Secretary of the People for Animals Public Policy Foundation. "The laws we have aren't suggestions - they're meant to protect people's lives. If they had been enforced, maybe this tragedy could have been prevented," she said Mihir Dawar, a policy specialist at the foundation, sought immediate action on the matter. "We already have the laws and the data. What we're missing is accountability and enforcement. If we're serious about preventing more tragedies like this, we need immediate action - enforce the law, close these illegal establishments, and publicly track compliance," he said. People For Animals Public Policy Foundation (PFA PPF) is the legal and policy wing of the parent organisation of People For Animals, which is one of India's largest animal welfare organisations, led by BJP leader Maneka Gandhi, who is also an advisor to the foundation.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Time of India
Animal welfare activist issues legal notice over regulatory breaches at AMC-run abattoir in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad: An animal welfare activist from Delhi has issued a legal notice to the state govt authorities, alleging regulatory breaches by the Jamalpur slaughterhouse . This facility is the only licensed one in the city and is run by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC). In the notice issued to the commissioner of food safety, the food and drug control administration, and the principal secretary of the urban development and urban housing department, Gauri Maulekhi, the activist, cited information obtained under the RTI Act provisions from the municipal corporation. She based her claim on this information, stating that more animals are slaughtered in the abattoir than the permission granted to it. The RTI data reveals that the slaughterhouse exceeded its licensed daily limit of 30 large animals and 98 small animals on multiple days in Jan. The activist has termed the volume crossing the threshold a violation of the provisions of the Food Safety and Standard Act, which requires a central license under the Food Safety and Standard Regulations. She has called for the suspension of operations and prosecution of those responsible for the breach of license, as well as the enforcement of central licensing. She has also urged the authority to inspect the slaughterhouse through the State Slaughterhouse Monitoring Committee, as mandated by the Supreme Court in earlier orders. Her counsel has warned that failure to act could lead to contempt of court proceedings.
