Stalled Flights? Birds of the Andal Aerodrome

An area in and around the aerodrome is a haven for wildlife and flight ground for birds. But will this private aerodrome make space for the diverse fauna that exists around it? Explore the magnificent avifauna with the author as he goes birding in and around the airstrip in Bengal.

- Amar Kumar Nayak

Andal earned a couple of brownie points when it placed its first step in the global market with a Greenfield airport that was inaugurated in May 2015 named after the rebel poet in Bengal, Kazi Nazrul Islam. This aerodrome holds the promise to connect the industrial centers of West Bengal, an important link across the urban conglomeration of Asansol-Durgapur-Dhanbad. However the massive plans of putting this nondescript town on the industrial map of India through the construction of an aerotropolis will invariably leave a dent in the biodiversity trove that Andal has to offer.

A CHIP OF THE HISTORY

This airstrip of more than 1500 acres was constructed by the East India Company and was the prime ground for defense related activities during the World War II. Post-Independence the airstrip was used as landing site by the Indian Air Force. Other than the farmers from the adjoining villages of Tamla, Dhubchururia and Gram Andal whom used the land for cultivation, much of the areas around the aerodrome remained uninhabited. Being situated on the river basins of the mighty Damodar and Ajay, it flourished not just in terms of agriculture but biodiversity as well, thus making Andal a treasure trove for photographers and conservationists.

ANDAL AERODROME: A BIRDER’S EDEN