Terrorists lurk dangerously in the skies

By Lalit K. Jha

NEW DELHI, JAN. 23. It is not only the danger of a terrorist attack that is keeping security agencies on their toes in the run-up to the Republic Day Parade here on January 26. There is also a threat from the skies; no, not an air raid, but unannounced bird-hits which can be lethal.

Describing it as a major security threat, officials have so far been successful in warding off birds from the Parade zone so that they do not come in the way of any aircraft with deadly consequences; be it the helicopters showering petals at the beginning of the Parade or the fly-past at the end.

Very little is known generally about this ``Keep-the-Birds-Away Drive'' being carried out by the Defence Ministry along with the Delhi Government, New Delhi Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Airports Authority of India and Indian Air Force.

A major feature of the drive are exclusive aerial surveys being carried out by the Air Force along with civic agencies. Officials say the aim is to keep the birds away from the air funnel area of the Parade and make at least Rajpath, where fighter-planes fly dangerously close to the ground, a ``No Birds Zone''. Since January 12, NDMC has declared Rajpath and India Gate lawns a ``No Picnic Zone''. Besides a campaign against hawkers and ice-cream vendors, it has also launched a cleanliness drive.

As instructed by MoD, such action is concentrated along a two-km radius around Rajpath. For the past one month all garbage bins in the ``No Birds Zone'' are being checked thrice a day. Civic officials go round the area regularly to ensure that no garbage is left unattended. Along the entire Parade route, extra sanitation measures have been introduced.

Elsewhere in areas falling under the Parade air funnel zone, emphasis is more on ensuring that no carcass is left unattended and no skinning of animals carried out as these attract vultures which are aviation hazards. For this, regular aerial surveys are being carried out along the Capital's air funnel area. The last one is expected just before the start of the Parade.

Areas identified as threat zones include Vasant Kunj, Kakrola, Najafgarh, Mahipalpur, the banks of the Yamuna, and trans-Yamuna areas near Mayur Vihar where both skinning and disposal of carcasses attract birds. The Ridge along Sardar Patel Marg is another area with a high concentration of birds.

To eliminate this threat from the sky, a special drive has been launched by MCD to make much of Delhi a ``No Bird Zone'' all of this week.

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