The authorities´ initial claim that the plane crash was caused by a bird hit has raised serious questions over the efficiency of the airport management.[break]
Barely had the sad incident died down, another incident happened in Pokhara on Monday where Yeti Air plane headed to Kathmandu had to turn back to safe land at the Pokhara airport after being hit by a bird.
Instead of blaming the birds for these accidents and taking drastic measures to get rid of them, serious consideration should be on controling the bird movement, feel ornithologists. The experts are worried that these birds will be treated brutally following the accidents.
Its not the birds that are to be blamed for air safety, say experts. "The problem lies within the airport authorities that failed to address the issue of controling the movement of birds in the air space."
"No one can control birds from flying," said Dr. Hem Sagar Baral, senior ornithologist, who was member of the research team that studied bird movement at the Kathmandu airport in 2006. "Birds have to fly in sky as it´s their natural route, its the human who has to manage bird population and take measures for air safety."
However, according to Dr. Baral, the airport management did not pay heed to the recommendations of the research team despite being informed about the problems much earlier. The recommendation is still lying unimplemented even after six years.
When asked about the measures taken so far to control birds, airport authorities refused to comment, saying that they would air their views on Wednesday.
Many birds roam around the area in search of food as two areas in the Kathmandu Valley are categorized as Important Bird Areas - Shivapuri-Nagarjun National Park and Phulchowki Mountain Forest Area, according to Dr Hum Bahadur Gurung, former chief executive officer of Bird Conservation Nepal.
"Birds are not the only cause of plane crashes, as strict implementation of air traffic rules and regulations are equally important," said Dr. Gurung. "Blaming birds is just a means to escape from responsibility."
Vultures and kites frequent the airport area for food, it was stated in the recommendation made six years ago. Thus, it urged the airport management to take strict measures to manage wastes within the airport area as it attracts these birds. The management, however, went after the birds by hiring few gunmen.
"Killing the birds won´t solve the problem," Dr. Baral further added. "The real problem lies in waste mismanagement and the lack of urban management in the surrounding. However, there hasn´t been any efforts towards that."
Despite the recommendation, the airport management has not sought any support from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) in this regard.
"They asked us to help solve the problem of monkeys a year ago but they haven´t sought any help to deal with the bird issue," said Dr Maheshwor Dhakal, ecologist at DNPWC.
Sources said that more than 150 vultures were killed in October 2006 and that number may have increased in the following years.
Dr Baral, however, said, "Killing birds by deploying hunters won´t solve the problem as the crux of problem lies on the management side."
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