Nagpur: Passengers are experiencing some anxious moments while arriving at and departing from Nagpur airport, with 15-20 stray dogs regularly seen roaming or lounging around the parking area and the terminal approach.Sometimes, the dogs even chase passengers. Security personnel drive away the dogs when they come too close to passengers, but the canines soon return to the premises. Also, dog poop at several spots raises concerns over cleanliness and overall passenger experience.A CISF personnel deployed near the Digi-Yatra gate told TOI that security staff intervene when the dogs approach passengers or the terminal’s main entrance. “All we can do is shoo them away,” he said.Flyers questioned the presence of stray dogs in a high-security zone like the airport. “Who will take responsibility if stray dogs bite or attack any flyer? With dogs around them, passengers, especially those travelling with children, may feel uncomfortable,” said Ujjwal Randive, a flyer.Another passenger, Pradeep Karande, a Mumbai resident who had just landed in Nagpur, stressed that the presence of stray dogs creates a bad impression about the airport. “The airport is the first and last point of contact for many visitors coming to Nagpur,” he said.Dhananjay Jadhav, assistant commissioner of Laxmi Nagar zone, which encompasses the airport, said that he would refer the matter to the zonal chief sanitary officer.An official source from GMR said passengers and locals can lodge a complaint through the GMR Nagpur International Airport Ltd (GNIAL) website. “Once an official complaint is lodged, it is forwarded to the department concerned, and immediate action will be taken,” the source said.
