Ranchi: Remember the scene of horrified passengers in 2006 Hollywood thriller ‘Snakes on a Plane’. In a virtual replay of reel life in real life in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi, passengers were equally horrified when snakes appeared in the terminal building of Ranchi’s Birsa Munda airport.
On Monday evening and then again on Tuesday evening two snakes had appeared at the airport terminal building last week. Airport director Raju Raghavendra Kumar confirmed the sighting of the snakes.
“There was enough room for the snake to sneak into the luggage. There were quite a few luggage lying around near the X-ray machine where the snake was spotted,” said Ranjan Sen, a passenger waiting for Jet Airways Kolkata-Ranchi-Kolkata (9W-2859) scheduled to depart at 7:20pm on Tuesday.
A separate terminal building (apart from the existing one) is being constructed at the airport for which over 20,000 sq meter lands has been concretised. “It has destroyed the habitats of the snakes and they are looking for new habitats,” said wildlife expert D S Srivastava.
Ranchi airport has a runway length of 8,900 sq ft and thick bushes surround the runway that work as a safe habitat for snakes. A large number of rats are found in the bushes too which work as food for the snakes.
According to CISF staff on Monday the venomous snake, possibly ‘harhara’, had appeared near Air India’s cabin. Generally passengers drop in their luggage near the cabin while getting clearances done from the airlines. At this point there were chances of the snake sneaking into the luggage.
“Initially we got an impression that the snake has managed to get into someone’s luggage. It was first sighted around 6:45pm and then suddenly disappeared. Not only passengers standing nearby started searching their baggage for the snake but also AI staff looked underneath the tables,” said a CISF inspector, requesting anonymity.
The Go Air Delhi-Ranchi-Delhi flight (G8-714) was scheduled to take off for Delhi at 8:05pm and over 100 passengers were in the passengers’ lounge when the snake was sighted.
The CISF staff, armed with carbolic acid (a snake repellent), started looking for the snake that was found after one-hour search at 7:55pm barely 10 minutes before the departure of the Go Air flight.
The airport authorities got snake repellent medicines spread in and around the airport after the incident. But on Tuesday evening again a snake, some three feet long, appeared near an X-ray machine. The machine is in service and several baggages are x-rayed in it. This snake was also recovered after CISF staff chased it for over one hour.
“The news has shocked me,” said Shahid Ansari, director at a posh city hospital and frequent flyer. In 2008 when 2.47 lakh flyers used the airport for various destinations across the country, sighting one snake in a week was not an unusual affair, said a source.
Airport director Raju, however, said, “There is no chance of a snake getting into a luggage and thus getting into the cargo hold of the aircraft. Before the luggage get into the cargo hold they are handled and checked at five to six points.”
alokknmishra@gmail.com
On Monday evening and then again on Tuesday evening two snakes had appeared at the airport terminal building last week. Airport director Raju Raghavendra Kumar confirmed the sighting of the snakes.
“There was enough room for the snake to sneak into the luggage. There were quite a few luggage lying around near the X-ray machine where the snake was spotted,” said Ranjan Sen, a passenger waiting for Jet Airways Kolkata-Ranchi-Kolkata (9W-2859) scheduled to depart at 7:20pm on Tuesday.
A separate terminal building (apart from the existing one) is being constructed at the airport for which over 20,000 sq meter lands has been concretised. “It has destroyed the habitats of the snakes and they are looking for new habitats,” said wildlife expert D S Srivastava.
Ranchi airport has a runway length of 8,900 sq ft and thick bushes surround the runway that work as a safe habitat for snakes. A large number of rats are found in the bushes too which work as food for the snakes.
According to CISF staff on Monday the venomous snake, possibly ‘harhara’, had appeared near Air India’s cabin. Generally passengers drop in their luggage near the cabin while getting clearances done from the airlines. At this point there were chances of the snake sneaking into the luggage.
“Initially we got an impression that the snake has managed to get into someone’s luggage. It was first sighted around 6:45pm and then suddenly disappeared. Not only passengers standing nearby started searching their baggage for the snake but also AI staff looked underneath the tables,” said a CISF inspector, requesting anonymity.
The Go Air Delhi-Ranchi-Delhi flight (G8-714) was scheduled to take off for Delhi at 8:05pm and over 100 passengers were in the passengers’ lounge when the snake was sighted.
The CISF staff, armed with carbolic acid (a snake repellent), started looking for the snake that was found after one-hour search at 7:55pm barely 10 minutes before the departure of the Go Air flight.
The airport authorities got snake repellent medicines spread in and around the airport after the incident. But on Tuesday evening again a snake, some three feet long, appeared near an X-ray machine. The machine is in service and several baggages are x-rayed in it. This snake was also recovered after CISF staff chased it for over one hour.
“The news has shocked me,” said Shahid Ansari, director at a posh city hospital and frequent flyer. In 2008 when 2.47 lakh flyers used the airport for various destinations across the country, sighting one snake in a week was not an unusual affair, said a source.
Airport director Raju, however, said, “There is no chance of a snake getting into a luggage and thus getting into the cargo hold of the aircraft. Before the luggage get into the cargo hold they are handled and checked at five to six points.”
alokknmishra@gmail.com
Good story brother but Raju is not airport director as the post has been abolished two years back by AAI, he is airport in-charge....please check it may be i am wrong
ReplyDeleteNO. U r right. Thanks for the info.
Deleteit's not unusual in jungle Raj
ReplyDeleteA source at airport today told me that a 10-feet-long snake near the runway encountered him last night.
DeleteNice story. Check out Direct Delhi to Ranchi flight also.
ReplyDelete