Traffic police plan smooth drive on Bellary Road during air show

Traffic police plan smooth drive on Bellary Road during air show

M.T. Shiva Kumar

It is the only major road connecting the air show venue and BIA

The air show will be held at Yelahanka from February 11 to 15

Dedicated lanes for traffic going towards BIA and air show

Bangalore: The Bangalore City Traffic police have planned to segregate traffic moving towards the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) from the rest during the forthcoming Aero India 2009 — a major Defence event being held in February here.

This, the police believe, will ensure a smooth drive both for airport passengers as well as those visiting the air show, including other road users.

The venue of the air show — Yelahanka Air Force Station — and the BIA are located nearby while the Bellary Road is the only major connecting road for both the venues. The traffic police have chalked out a traffic management plan for the area during the air show between February 11 and 15 and forwarded the same to the Ministry of Defence for its concurrence.

As per the proposed plan, two lanes each on both the directions of Bellary Road between Hebbal and Yelahanka Air Force Station will be dedicated to traffic moving towards BIA while the remaining two will be used by visitors to the air show as well as regular road users, said Prabhakar H. Rane, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-West). Bellary Road offers four lanes each on both directions between Hebbal and Devanahalli, including two service lanes.

“Since the international airport was shifted to the north east zone and the air show is also being held in the same zone, there are chances that many air passengers may miss flights. To avoid this, elaborate planning has been done,” Mr. Rane told The Hindu,

The plan comprises arranging routes for VIPs, general public, heavy transport vehicles, to the BIA and etc. Planning is also done on a large-scale to provide diversion points for vehicles, Mr. Rane said.
Additional personnel

The traffic police are not taking any chances as they have to cater to different sections of road users at a time — visitors to air show, BIA passengers and other road users. Since large number of VVIPs and foreign delegates are expected to attend the air show, the police are not taking any chances in providing smooth passage for them.

As many as 1,600 policemen, 11 mobile patrolling squads, three interceptors, four cranes, nine tow vehicles and four ambulances will be kept in the ready on Bellary Road, Outer Ring Road, NH 207, Doddaballapur Road and other roads. In addition, the police will also initiate short-message-service campaign as well as displaying banners and advertisements to educate the motorists.

Aero India 2009 is organised by the Defence Ministry in association with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

This is the fourth largest air show in the world and the show is one of the major exhibitions in the country. It includes both air display and exhibitions of various aircraft.