Chennai ready to host first IAF air show in South India with watertight security

Chennai:  The Greater Chennai Police will deploy 6,500 cops and 1,500 Home Guards for the Chennai air show to be held here on Sunday.

The IAF has in a statement said that around 15 lakh people will attend the air show which is the third outside New Delhi and the first in South India.

The air show is conducted as part of the 92nd Air Force Day celebrations and over 20 different types of aircraft will be showcased during the event, taking off from air force stations in Tambaram, Thanjavur, Sulur and the training command base in Bengaluru.

Each participating team will converge above the East Coast Road and then fly to the Marina Beach.

The Sunday event will be the third Air Force Day celebration conducted outside New Delhi, and the first in a southern state and the entire display on the skies will be controlled by the Air Traffic Controller in Chennai Airport.

The aircrafts that will be on show are Dassault Rafale, Sukhoi-30, Suryakiran, the indigenously developed HAL Tejas among others.

The IAF also said that there was a concern over bird strikes and has requested the people not to bring eatables while attending the air show.

The Greater Chennai police have issued traffic diversions on Sunday.

In a statement the police said that on Kamarajar Salai, only vehicles with passes are allowed between Gandhi Statue and war memorial. Motorists without passes are requested to use Wallajah Salai instead of R.K Salai for better parking arrangements.

Vehicles coming from Thiruvanmiyur towards Parrys via Kamarajar Salai will be diverted via Sardar Patel Road – Gandhi Mandapam Road – Anna Salai.

Vehicles coming from Parrys to Thiruvanmiyur will be diverted along Anna Salai-Teynampet-Gandhi Mandapam.

Commercial vehicles are restricted in Kamarajar Salai, Anna Salai, Santhome High Road, R.K. Salai, Cathedral Road, Wallajah Road from 7 A.M. to 4 P.M.

To reach the venue, the motorists are advised to use Anna Salai, Wallajah Road and Swami Sivananda Salai.

The police further said that parking details are available on social media handles of the Greater Chennai Traffic Police.

—IANS