Amitha Reji George, Pune
On Sunday five people died and 200 were hospitalized at an Indian Air Force air show at Chennai’s Marina beach. The show was held to commemorate IAF’s 92nd anniversary.
People who attended the events claimed that the death was due to lack of traffic control, limited public transport and poor crowd management. But Reports say the reason for death is extreme exhaustion and dehydration. Thousands of people who came to see the show stood in the scorching sun for 2 – 3 hours.
Senior Police official told PTI that one person died on the beachfront and four others died nearby. All five of the victims were among the thousands of people who had assembled along a few kilometers of shoreline to see the air display.
The absence of crowd control and traffic management, which significantly increased traffic in the city, was criticized by the attendees. A rush to escape when the event ended caused more confusion, leaving hundreds of people trapped on the streets, outside train terminals, and outside metro stations.
Chennai Metro only increased train frequency after the event started due to the huge turnout, which resulted in long wait times for many people. The incapacity of local authorities to predict and efficiently control the number of people in the crowd is currently drawing criticism.
After a number of people passed out from weariness, rescuers stretched and cared for them in shelters.
Following the event, local trains, such as the MRTS and Metro, were overcrowded in addition to buses, and major roads, particularly those near the beach area, were completely congested. There were a lot of people at the bus station located near the display venue, Anna Square. People had to go a long way to catch buses or get to train stations because of traffic restrictions.
The state’s preparation was defended by State Health Minister M Subramanian, who pointed out that two health teams with sufficient medical staff were stationed at the location. “Forty ambulances were stationed with paramedical teams,” he stated. However, a lot of people doubt whether the actions taken were sufficient in light of the unfortunate event.
The DMK administration was held accountable by Tamil Nadu BJP head Annamalai for failing to provide proper arrangements for the thousands of attendees.