POKHARA, Feb 24: The construction of the Pokhara Regional International Airport (PRIA) has sparked debates among Pokhara residents regarding its advantages and disadvantages. Although the airport has been completed, the debate persists, with the current focus on whether international flights should operate from the airport and concerns over its safety.

Some recent incidents such as the Yeti Airlines' ATR plane crash on January 15 and bird collision with a Buddha Air plane on February 21 have heightened these concerns. Stakeholders and the general public have begun showing interest in the airport's security.

However, Bikram Gautam, head of the Pokhara office of CAAN, believes that there is misinformation about the safety of Pokhara's skies. Speaking at an interaction organized by the Pokhara Metropolitan City on Thursday, Gautam stated that minor incidents will continue to occur at airports, even at the world's safest airports.

Gautam added that the presence of birds around the airport and bird-plane collisions should be considered normal and that accidents are unlikely to occur when a bird collides with a plane.

Dhanraj Acharya, Mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City, echoed Gautam's sentiments and called for collaboration to ensure the safety and operational readiness of PRIA. He urged the people to be mindful of the negative impact that spreading misinformation about the airport could have on tourism.

Former president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Anand Raj Mulmi accused Kathmandu of spreading misinformation about PRIA. Mulmi claimed that Kathmandu is worried about being overtaken by Pokhara and is intentionally spreading misinformation about the airport's safety.

Ornithologist Manshanta Ghimire noted that birds have become a problem for the airport because the Pokhara Metropolitan City did not provide an alternative to the landfill site near the airport. He suggested that if an alternative site had been provided earlier, the bird problem would have been resolved.

During the event, journalists emphasized the importance of providing accurate and timely information about the incidents at the airport to prevent the spread of misinformation. 

The outgoing president of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ),  Kaski, Dipendra Shrestha, journalists Krishnamani Baral, Madhav Paneru, Dinanath Baral and others said that if the airport does not give correct information and tries to hide incidents, the doubts about Pokhara International Airport will increase. They said that if they give accurate information about any incident immediately they can prevent misinformation from spreading.

 
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