Ever since the Mumbai deluge made headlines, there has been a steady flow of information about Mumbai airport which as it turns out was practically at the epicentre both in causal as well as effect terms. We all know about the flights which were delayed and cancelled on an unprecedented scale. Now we are hearing about the nearby Mithi river being the key reason for the flooding of not only the airport but of Mumbai itself!
Three recent articles in TIMES OF INDIA provide glimpses into the situation. On Aug 8 there was "How the airport ate up the Mithi River" which is self explanatory. Basically it shows how "the river has been artificially diverted by the airport" over the decades. (Reportedly, the area was originally known as Salsette!) In "Where eagles dare" (Aug 11), a graphical picture is presented about the airport layout, especially focusing on the inadequacies of the seondary runway (14-32) which had to be employed as the main runway (9-27) was put out of action when its landing aids were washed out. Incidentally, the main runway is the same length as Dabolim (3.5 km or 11K feet). The secondary runway not only has two obstructions, (one at each end i.e the control tower itself! and a hill), but is shorter at 3km and of this only 2.2 km is useable, and it is subject to both crosswinds and tailwinds (while the main runway only has headwinds, the favourable kind). As a result "most pilots would not want to use [it] more than once in a lifetime"! Oh and btw, the runway has been made in patches (sort of like Panjim's 4-lane DB Marg!) and even take-offs can be bone-rattling experiences. The third article is "CM to set up two panels to probe Mithi disaster" (Aug 11). One of these is the Mithi Nadi Development Authority (MNDA) and the other is a Disaster Management Authority (DMA). MNDA has the task of identifying obstacles in the free flow of the Mithi River and removing any encroachments. No mention is made of the airport as a potential culprit! Watch this space. Let's hope Goa govt learns the right lessons from the experience with Mumbai airport's growth and evolution in planning for Mopa. Let's also hope it does not let AAI chicken out from Dabolim when Mopa is ready.
