CHENNAI: Thunderous roar of jet engines reverberated across the Marina Beach on Friday as Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots showcased their skills, navigating modern aircraft and choppers, during the rehearsals conducted for the air show scheduled for Sunday (October 6).
The air show is conducted as part of the 92nd Air Force Day celebrations, for which an event will be held at the Tambaram Air Station on Tuesday.
The aircraft that zipped past the skies included Dassault Rafale, Sukhoi-30, Suryakiran. indigenously developed HAL Tejas among others.
The neighbourhoods in Chennai were agog as children, women and even senior citizens climbed up the stairs after hearing the roar of the jets during the rehearsals.
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.From there, each participating team will converge above the East Coast Road and then fly to the Marina Beach.
While the IAF expects nearly 15 lakh attendees for the air show, there was also a concern over bird strikes.
“We would like the people to not bring eatables,” requested Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, IAF, Bengaluru.
The Sunday event will be the third Air Force Day celebration conducted outside New Delhi, and the first in a southern state.
The entire display on the skies will be controlled by the Air Traffic Controller in the Chennai Airport.
Traffic diversions
Chennai: As part of the security arrangements, the Chennai city police will deploy a total of 6,500 police officers and 1,500 home guards. Following traffic diversions will be in place on Sunday: 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 am to 4 pm. To reach the venue, the motorists are advised to use Anna Salai, Wallajah Road and Swami Sivananda Salai. (Parking details are available on social media handles of the Greater Chennai Traffic Police)