Banke, December 10
It has been almost five years since the government has come up with a master plan to upgrade the Nepalgunj airport. Nevertheless, the implementation of the master plan is still a far cry.
The airport’s runway has witnessed several problems due to the lack of tiny renovation works. The runway is widely covered with grass. There have been increasing security challenges during the take-off and landing of flights as the airport is close to a forest and its runway is covered with invasive grass.
The movement of wild animals to and from invasive bushes has posed a serious challenge to airport security. It may be noted that an aircraft of Buddha Airlines had hit a boar last Tuesday while landing at the airport. The wild animal was killed in the incident. Human casualty, however, was narrowly escaped.
The security challenges have become more pressing with the wild animals easily entering the runway, says Binit Shah, station manager at the Buddha Airlines. “The airport has a grassy runway. The problem is recurring due to the lack of regular and systematic cleanup of the runway. It has added challenges since wild animals can easily hide in the bush and enter the runway anytime”, he adds.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), challenges have occurred due to the delay of Pappu Construction in completing works at the airport. The company was awarded the contract amounting to Rs 130 million for cementing the runway, marking and cleaning up bushes and grading. Rs 113.3 million was already disbursed to the contractor for the work. However, progress is sluggish.
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