Bhubaneswar: The stray cattle menace near and around the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) may dampen the state government’s efforts to boost tourism. The stray animals roaming free in and around the airport area is not a welcome sight for the visitors from abroad.
Many tour operators have expressed concern over the civic apathy and called for improvement in hygienic standards on the airport premises.
The vast area with grass attracts the bovine towards the airport. Interestingly, the stray cattle will often come near the airport’s passenger entry points during the rain.
“We are considering BPIA as an international airport. Once I went to the airport for dropping some international travellers. We saw a bull standing in front of the international terminal gate. Such scenes are embarrassing for the state,” said Travel Agents Association vice-president Himansu Das.
“Currently, we are offering only basic facilities at BPIA. So, the airport needs to improve its passenger facilities. This apart, the hygienic standard of the airport needs to be maintained well by the civic body. Stray cattle roaming around the airport premises is certainly an embarrassment,” said Benjamin Simon, a leading tour operator of the state.
While the Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials blame the civic body for the menace, the latter battling the same problem in the city is unsure when they can at least make the airport premises stray cattle-free.
“We have a dedicated team for removing the stray animals from the road. Currently, we catch the animals and release them on city outskirts. However, these animals are again coming back to the city because of food sources and the people are also feeding them. We will soon relocate these stray animals to a shelter house. But, if the public continues to release these animals again our efforts would be futile. Nevertheless, I will enquire,” said a top official of BMC.
As long as people release the animals at the airport premises for grazing and the officials follow a lukewarm approach to the problem, it is difficult to see how the official machinery can corral the strays near the most important airport in the state, say observers.