The Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, under construction at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, has reached the height of 80 m and defeated the tallest historical monument in Delhi, the Qutub Minar, which stands at 72.5 m. According to the officials, 80 per cent of the civil construction work of the tallest upcoming ATC tower in India is complete. In the next two months, the tower is expected to achieve its proposed height of 102 m.
"The upcoming ATC tower has achieved a milestone by crossing the height of the historical brick minaret. With the construction in full swing, the tower is expected to reach its target height in a couple of months. The tower will boast of 21 air traffic controller positions, including 12 positions at operational ground level, significantly increasing the efficiency of the busiest airports in the country," said the official.
After the civil construction work is complete, the tower will be handed over to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which will install the modern-age equipment, such as radars in the tower. "Post the civil construction work, the glasswork on the building will be done. The next stage will involve moving of the equipment required for air navigation from the existing tower and installation of new equipments according to the requirements. The building complex of the upcoming ATC tower will also have an administrative block," added the official.
"Though all movements are monitored through radar, a clear view by the naked eye can sometimes help avert mishaps in case animals stray on the runway. The upcoming tower will help leverage the skills of the ATC, help utilising the three operational runways to their maximum capacity and also help achieve higher air traffic movement per hour, from the current level of 65 per hour," he added.
dIJca@ ` ld be evolved soon whereby harassed commuters will be able to report any incident through the emergency buttons provided in the auto-rickshaws. "The department has decided to go ahead with the panic button alert system in the autos.
Once the passengers press the button, a message would be flashed to the DIMTS-operated control room at ISBT from where the Police Control Room would be alerted," said Goswami.
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