India: 5 dead, 90 hospitalised as local authorities mess up Chennai IAF Air Show

Chennai

What was supposed to be a memorable and cherished Air Show experience for lakhs of people at Chennai's iconic Marina Beach turned out to be a disaster due to the lax approach and blatant negligence of authorities under the Tamil Nadu government and the Indian Railways. While the Indian Air Force conducted a flawless and thoroughly professional Air Show, the events that took place before and after the event are what led to uncontrollable chaos. At the time of writing, five people had lost their lives and more than 90 had been hospitalised. 

Despite knowing fully well that more than 1.5 million people were expected to attend Sunday's (Oct 6) show on the scenic shores of the Marina Beach, the Chennai City Police and Chennai Traffic Police did not make suitable arrangements to handle such a footfall and their smooth entry, exit.

While the city's Traffic Police had urged Air Show attendees to use public transport, the city's Metro rail network and Mass Rapid Transport System (under the Indian Railways) were not operating trains at required frequencies. Viral videos showed choked metro stations and MRTS stations where people were struggling. 

The same applied to the city buses. This led to overcrowding and chaos even while people were on their way to the air show. Owing to such issues with public transport, people were forced to walk for several kilometres on a blazing hot day. 

The arduous, fatal walk back from the Marina Beach

Total chaos unfolded after the two-hour Air Show, as thousands of people were pouring into the main road adjoining the Marina beach, with no crowd control measures in place by the local authorities. With most attendees having endured the blazing heat and humidity for more than three hours, they were all desperate to return to the nearest public transport hubs. Predominantly, the crowd comprised of families with school-going children.

However, government vehicles (predominantly belonging to IAS, and IPS officials) and other VIPs began to exit the Marina beach and crowd the arterial road, thereby blocking the path meant for lakhs of pedestrians, who had already borne the brunt of the intense heat. Commoners were forced to walk several kilometres in choc-a-bloc conditions while braving the searing heat and humidity. Completely exhausted and dehydrated, thousands of people sat along the roads and footpaths, unable to walk any further.

Watch | Chennai IAF Air Show: Indian Airforce's Mega Air Show Dazzles Chennai Skies

Those that were able to walk further were caught up in multiple stampede-like situations. While there are hospitals in the vicinity, the traffic congestion meant that the dehydrated persons and those who had fainted could not get the much needed help.

As lakhs of people spent a few hours walking across a two-kilometre stretch of road, there were several ambulances caught up in the ensuing congestion. Many took refuge in nearby government buildings, waiting in the shade, for the roads to clear. However, it took more than three hours for this situation to improve. By then, lakhs of people were severely inconvenienced, as is evident from the outpouring of netizens' complaints against local authorities in Chennai.