http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1888989.cms

Every terrorist's delight
Manju V
[ 12 Aug, 2006 2342hrs ISTTIMESOFINDIA.COM ]
 
 
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MUMBAI: From the hilltop in Jarimari area of Andheri, the view of the airport is spectacular — a terrorist’s delight and a cop’s nightmare.

Boeing 747s, 737s, Airbus 320s and ATRs line up to head for the runway a few metres away — the blast from engines of planes ready for take-off is clearly visible.

It's the starkest of contrasts. Inside the airport terminal, security is getting more stringent — CISF personnel allow only those with proper tickets to enter the airport. There are clearly defined no-entry zones and constant surveillance through CCTVs. But outside, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say there is no security. Nearly 100-odd shanties stand thick, just across the airport’s boundary wall, which has been broken in many places to gain access to a site where work on extending a taxi way is on.

Beyond this area is a small boundary wall, supporting some huts and also providing the last cordon between the runway and the slum land. And, there are no uniformed gun-toting guards standing here.

The Jarimari hillock, close to the airport boundary, is known to be its vulnerable side. There are two more slums that give easy access to the airport but none is so open as Jarimari. One can survey the flight operations from this vantage point with ease. "All the action on the runway has been exploited by camera crews, who often shoot from this hill," local social worker Anil Galgali said. "Airport security should begin here. It’s the most visible weak link," an airline official said.

He added,"GVK has also begun a survey of slums in the area. Most of them will be removed and dwellers rehabilitated with help from the government." Politicians have protected their vote bank for long. "The pilot project for rehabilitation of airport slums itself dragged on for five years due to political interference," an airport official added.

Most of the slums around the airport came up in the 1980s on vast tracts of AAI land around the airport; the 1995 survey said 160 acres of AAI land had been gobbled up.