Illegal butcheries back in business near Chandigarh airport

Mohali: Illegal butcheries are back in the vicinity of the Chandigarh international airport in Jagatpura and Bhabat villages.

The administration had banned the setting up of meat shops near the airport in 2020, but as no checks were made during the Covid-19 lockdown, the illegal shops are back in business.

The airport authority has once again lodged a complaint with the administration to get such shops removed.

Deputy commissioner Girish Dayalan said, “We will once again get the area checked and SDM will be directed to take action.”

The matter was also discussed during the Civil Military Liaison Conference held in January 2020 between armed forces officers and civil administration. Illegal butcheries and garbage dumps in Jagatpura attract eagles and other birds, which while foraging for food interrupt the path followed by an aircraft at the runway, increasing chances of hitting one. Sources said two aircraft had experienced bird-hits while landing in 2016. However, the banning orders have hardly been a deterrent. Earlier, the orders to ban butcheries within 1,000 metre of the airport boundary had been issued in 2018 and 2019.