‘Why no basic facilities for public at IAF air show in Chennai?'

CHENNAI: The air show revealed a complete lack of coordination between government departments – each blaming the other for everything that went wrong on the road on Sunday.

Even before the show ended, Wallajah Road and interior roads around it were flooded with thousands of pedestrians and commuters who were doing their best to return home.

“When lakhs of people are expected in a large public space, crowd control is expected to be a challenge but today, it was utter chaos,” lamented Radhika, who had arrived with her family from Kolapakkam. “Before the show began, it was smooth with adequate police protection. But later, when the crowd surged in Marina beach, it turned into a disaster. We couldn’t spot a single police officer to control the crowd. I saw a few people faint.”

Humid weather conditions worsened the situation, as the public jumped into the university and other buildings to rest. They were lying on the road as the civic body did not set up tents or provide drinking water facilities. Though eatery shops were functional, they quickly ran out of food and water.

The Greater Chennai Corporation and Metro Water board were supposed to keep 60 public toilets and 50,000 litres of drinking water in 10 tanks for the people, but nothing was found at the beach, rued denizens. “Authorities expected almost 15 lakh to turn up for the show. They know it’s hot and humid. So why didn’t they set up basic facilities such as drinking water and toilets?” lamented Jagannathan, a resident of Manali New Town.

“Even the shops on the beach did not have sufficient water supply – one of the reasons many people fainted. Also, apart from the public toilet, only 3 mobile toilets were kept. How would that be enough? When the public was trying to figure out how to navigate the overwhelming crowd, the police allowed buses and autos on Wallajah Road which made it more challenging. Arrangements were made only for the VIPs and not the public. We’ve been completely neglected,” stated Krishakumari from Virugambakkam.

On the other hand, the Corporation mentioned there would be an additional 50 bins kept along the shore and on the roads to dispose of the waste. But, not even a single bin was spotted on the road. Eventually, people littered on the road, beach and university campus. Though Corporation workers were cleaning the waste, the entire stretch of Kamarajar Salai and Wallajah Road was filled with plastic bottles, eatery wastes and every other trash imaginable.