Chennai Air Show: The air show organized by the Indian Air Force (IAF) at Marina Beach was a big hit, but thousands of people who gathered on the beautiful beach on Sunday found it difficult to return home after the show. Police said two people fell ill and died.
Hundreds of people gathered at the nearby Lighthouse Metro station in Velachery and the Chennai MRTS railway station, which connects Chintadripet near the Marina, and many did not even have space to stand on the platform. Despite this, many people took risks and traveled and many missed their trains.
AIADMK raised questions on traffic system
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami posted on the incident, 'On the occasion of the 92nd Raising Day of the Indian Air Force, a bold event was organized in Chennai today to celebrate the might of the Air Force. However, since its notification has already been published, knowing that lakhs of people will come to participate in it, the Tamil Nadu government said that arrangements for transportation and infrastructure have been made.'
He said, 'However, in today's incident the administrative arrangements and management of crowd and traffic could not be done properly as the police force is also inadequate to control it. This news is shocking that people are stuck in heavy traffic. Even drinking water is not available and due to heat wave many people have been admitted to the hospital and till now 5 people have died. This makes me very sad.
people fainted from heat
There was a crowd of people gathered at the bus stop located at Anna intersection near the air show venue. A senior police officer told PTI that due to the stampede-like conditions at the marina and the heat, around a dozen people became unconscious and were treated at a government facility. He said the police had to come forward to smooth the traffic so that three ambulances could reach the hospital.
While returning home, two people fell ill and one died in a government hospital, while the other died near the bike in Anna Salai. About 35 people have been admitted to hospital with symptoms of dehydration, the official said. The main roads connecting the Marina to different parts of the city were also affected by traffic jams and vehicles remained stuck at one place for several minutes.
Traffic resumed after three hours
K Sridhar from Velachery told the agency, 'I found it very difficult to take the MRTS train to Chintadripet as the Velachery station was jam-packed with people eager to watch the air display. Traffic was restored near Marina Beach, about three hours after the air show by Indian Air Force aircraft ended at 1 pm, a police officer said.