Air show: thousands put to hardship, Marina beach and nearby areas grind to a standstill

Several roads, such as Anna Salai, Poonamallee High Road, and Walajah Road, witness heavy traffic; buses and trains packed to brim with people heading to and returning from the event; many visitors say the Southern Railway should have operated extra MRTS services to ease travel woes

Frustration, exhaustion, and long wait times were what awaited people who arrived to watch the air show, organised as part of the 92nd Indian Air Force Day celebrations, on Marina Beach on Sunday (October 6, 2024). Roads, Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses, and Chennai Metro Rail and Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) trains were all packed to the brim with people heading to and returning from the event.

Several roads in the city such as Anna Salai, Poonamallee High Road, and Walajah Road witnessed heavy traffic congestion. Many were stuck in traffic for a long time. Right from 8 a.m., the MRTS trains running between Velachery and Chintadripet stations were jam packed. Similarly, the Chintadripet railway station also witnessed heavy crowding as many residents from northern and western parts of the city arrived there first before making their way to the beach.

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Limited services

However, people were displeased that the MRTS trains were only operated at 30 minutes interval. MRTS services, operated from Velachery to Chennai Beach, have been truncated at Chintadripet owing to the fourth-line project being executed from Egmore to Beach.

A lot of people complained that Southern Railway had not accounted for the crowding the event would cause and had not bothered to operate extra MRTS services, which is the most accessible route to Marina beach. Similarly, thousands put to hardship while returning home as well since the trains were jam packed.

Suresh, who took an MRTS train from Velachery, said he had never seen the station flooded with people like this. “How can they run trains with a frequency of one hour when they know such an event is happening? The station was packed. We struggled to get in and out.”

‘One of the worst cases’

Velu, who had travelled from Nanganallur to Adyar on Sunday morning, said it took as long as one-and-a-half-hours. “It was one of the worst traffic scenes that I have seen. The vehicle moved very slowly,” he said.

When the air show ended at 1 p.m., people were unable to board buses, trains, and Metro Rails, hail autorickshaws, or even cross the roads.

J. Soujanya of Thirumangalam said: “We were sitting at the Chintadripet bus stop for two hours. No bus stopped as they were all already crowded and no autorickshaw wanted to navigate the chaotic traffic.”

With a five-year-old child asleep in her arms, she decided to wait it out. “Afraid that we would miss a bus or an empty autorickshaw, we did not even eat our lunch,” Ms. Soujanya said, who had come with her family of five.

As traffic increased at the Walajah Road-Anna Salai junction in the afternoon, people decided to jump over the three-foot medians while others decided to navigate through the passing vehicles in an effort to cross the road.

As many bus drivers refused to open the doors as the crowd surged at the junction, people resorted to banging on the doors. “We live in Royapuram but not a single bus stopped at Simpsons bus stand and those that did stop were already full. With no water or food, we have decided to walk back home. The air show was not worth the chaos,” said K. Ritika, who came to watch the show with her husband.

Lack of accessibility

Disabled persons too found it very difficult to watch the show. Sathish Kumar, a wheelchair user, and four others were keen on watching the air show. However, the State government had made no provisions to accommodate the community.

“We wanted to watch the show and arrived at the venue by 10 a.m. We fought with the police personnel who denied us entry and finally directed us to the service road. We somehow managed to find a spot to watch it,” he said.

Mr. Sathish Kumar added that the community was often left out and that there was a need to create accessible spaces for events. In this case, there was the accessible beach pathway, however, it was relegated to the VIPs.

Published - October 07, 2024 01:06 am IST