Dwarka residents are left thoroughly shaken following the crash of a small BSF aircraft this morning literally next door. The whole sub-city is under the Airport Zone. The crash that killed 10 people on board was particularly disturbing for the residents of Sector 8 and Bagdola Village given the area's proximity to the crash site. Sector 8 happens to be the nearest sector to the runway.
Says AS Chatwal, General Secretary of Sector 8 RWA, “The accident happened just a few metres away from our pockets. All of us are restless. How safe are we, really?" Chatwal recalls another such incident that happened two decades back in Sector 21 or 22. "If the crash had occurred a little closer, it would have been fatal for thousands of residents."
Lack of proper facilities to deal with such untoward incidents makes things worse. Says Sunil Sareen, Joint Secretary of Dwarka Forum and a resident of Bharat Vandana Apartment in Sector 19, “It's a scary situation for us living in the Airport Zone. There are no medical services and no fire stations to deal with such emergencies. There is also no basic safety and security parameters put in place in the area." Dwarka Forum has been raising theses concerns with the authorities for a long time but to no avail.
Airport Authority, in fact, has declared areas like Sector 8, Bagdola Village, Sector 21 and Sector 22 as bird hit zones. Throwing garbage, domestic waste and edible things are prohibited in these areas as these attract birds that can collide with the aeroplanes. But garbage management is poor with heaps of garbage seen everywhere. "We request all concerned authorities to keep the area clean and check any such practice which violates the rules of Airport Zone. Our RWA is always ready to support," says Chatwal.
