AIADMK Approaches NHRC on Air Show Tragedy

Chennai: The AIADMK approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) demanding a full and independent enquiry into the alleged mismanagement and failure of the State government to provide necessary facilities to the public who visited the Marina Sands on Sunday to witness the air show conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF), leading to the loss of five lives.

In a letter to the NHRC chairperson on Wednesday, AIADMK’s State legal wing secretary and former MLA, I S Inbadurai wanted necessary action against the erring officials of the State government, whose mismanagement and inefficiency in not providing adequate water, transport and medical facilities to the public caused the tragedy.

Organised by the IAF as part of its 92nd anniversary and coordinated by the State government, the air show was witnessed by Chief Minister M K Stalin, chief of air staff, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, and Chennai Mayor Priya along with the 15 lakh spectators who were drawn to the Marina sand as the IAF and State government had advertised its conduct across various media platforms, he said.

State departments like Home, Police, Transport, Health and other agencies were expected to coordinate and provide proper facilities to the record crowd from Chennai and neighbouring districts who had started turning up since morning to watch the show held between 11.30 am and 1 pm, he said.

When the entire crowd attempted to leave at once, traffic authorities were unprepared to manage the rush and soon congestion built up around the beach, paralyzing movement of vehicles for more than an hour on all roads, he said.

Though the government was expecting the 15 lakh strong crowd, it failed to come up with arrangements for the exit of the people, particularly the earmarking of a priority path for children, women and elderly, from the beach, causing great distress, he said.

Since the Chennai Metro Rail and railways too failed to run adequate numbers of trains, crowds swelled even at the stations like Vellacherry, Beach and Government Estate and people suffered from dehydration with the temperature soaring to 36 Celsius with no provision for water and medical assistance, he alleged.

He said hundreds of people had to walk three to four kilometres on jam-packed roads to reach their vehicles and ambulances got stuck in the crowds. The chaos led to the hospitalization of 200 persons and the death of five persons, Karthikeyan, D John, Dinesh Kumar, Mani and Srinivasan due to heat exhaustion, he said.

Initial reports suggested that the deaths could have been averted if appropriate precautions had been taken by the government, he added.