Juhu aerodrome prepares for rains

As the rainy season approaches, Juhu aerodrome is preparing for waterlogging, as operations tend to get suspended every year due to the problem.

Juhu heliport officials are having meetings with civic officials at regular intervals in order to deal with the situation, said a Juhu aerodrome official.

According to Juhu aerodrome sources, this year officials deployed four mobile DG pumps of 28 HP on all four corners of the aerodrome premises to pump out water.

“We have set up a few drains to eject water, because past operations had been severely affected due to waterlogging on the runway, which had been turned into a pond,” said an official.

Along with this, 10-HP four pumps have been already deployed near the runway strip and Juhu Airport authorities are on their way to hire four more, said sources.

Commenting on recent developments, a top Juhu Airport official, while talking to The Asian Age, said, “Since the year started we have been making changes in the Juhu airport every now and then which have had a positive impact. This year we have been in touch with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and it is helping us arrange and dump waste.”

Explaining the need for waste management, an official said that, as the airport is adjacent to Nehru Nagar’s slums, locals often trespass to steal wires and iron. Also, as the slums are congested, BMC garbage vehicle find it difficult to enter them and thus locals keep on throwing waste on the airport’s premises. “So, we call their vans every day to clean the premises, and we are in talks with government authorities to create waste management system in Nehru Nagar to prevent garbage from piling up on our premises, as this can cause waterlogging.”

According to sources, officials are going to build one more wall for security reasons.