Mumbai.  There is a demand to declare the area affected by the runway funnel zone of Mumbai airport as 'infrastructure affected'. In fact, Mumbai Congress President Varsha Gaikwad has written a letter to Civil Aviation Minister K R Naidu regarding this issue.

In the letter, he said, 'The redevelopment of over 6,000 buildings located in the runway funnel zone of Mumbai airport is still in limbo due to height restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

What is the funnel zone and what problems does it cause

Let us tell you that the funnel zone includes areas that align with the runway along the specific paths followed by flights during landing and takeoff. Varsha Gaikwad, who represents the Mumbai North Central parliamentary seat, said that 'this has seriously affected many redevelopment projects. Six to eight lakh Mumbaikars living in Vile Parle, Santacruz, Kurla and Ghatkopar (West) are in a precarious situation. Residents are facing financial difficulties due to stalled development projects.'

Redevelopment of slums is also getting affected

Gaikwad said, "Many of these buildings existed before the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport was built. These buildings need urgent redevelopment. The slum redevelopment in the area is also affected. There can be no compromise on the safety of operations at the airport, but the government must consider the issue of families affected by the funnel zone restrictions."

The Lok Sabha MP said that the transmission towers along with the high frequency communication system should be relocated in such a way that the security of one of the busiest airports in the country is not compromised. Similarly, the feasibility of re-evaluating the funnel line should also be considered without compromising on security at the airport, the Congress leader demanded.