Neelgais threaten flight safety, IAF base sends SOS to wildlife department

CHANDIGARH: Alarmed by the presence of a large number of blue bulls (neelgai) lurking on the Air Force station campus, posing a threat to routine Air Force sorties as well as civilian aircrafts operating from the local runway, the Air Force authorities have now sought help from wildlife departments of Punjab, Haryana and UT, Chandigarh to control the menace.
According to IAF officials, a large number of blue bulls s are there in the forest within the local Air Force station area. The forest filled with "lantana" and wild grass, provides a safe haven for animals like blue bulls.
Chief Administrative Officer of 12-Wing Air Force station, Group Captain D C Pandey said that they have communicated to the wildlife departments of Punjab, Haryana, as well as UT, Chandigarh, asking them to shift the animals present in the forest area to some other safer place after tranquilizing them. He said blue bulls had been spotted by the Air Force officials guarding the runway on several occasions and creating a nuisance for flight operations.
The IAF spokesperson said no untoward incident has been reported because of the blue bulls but pointed out that sometimes these animals have been spotted very close to the runway, endangering flight safety.
The Chandigarh base is also considered the spinal cord of the troops deployed in high altitude areas like Ladakh and Kargil. There are regular flights of giant aircrafts like AN-32, IL-76 from the Chandigarh airbase to Leh for providing logistic support and transportation of soldiers posted in those areas. Similarly, there are over 12 civilian flights operating from this base that use same runway for various domestic destinations.