Dip in visibility by Bhogi bonfires delays 37 flights
At least 37 incoming and outgoing flights from Chennai airport were delayed due to poor visibility on smog-filled runways triggered by burning of Bhogi bonfires.
A total of seven international and a domestic flights were diverted to airports in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi due to poor visibility in the city.
As many as 29 flights, which were scheduled to take off from Chennai after 7 am onwards, were delayed for up to three hours, which created a ripple effect on fight schedules of outgoing and incoming flights.
Flights coming from Sharjah, Muscat, Kuala Lumpur and Doha were diverted to Bengaluru while inbound flights from Colombo, Dubai, Singapore and Mumbai were diverted to Hyderabad. “All scheduled flights took off before 6.30 am. But the impact of smog, generated by burning old articles including plastic on Bhogi day, started only after that,” airport sources said.
The Chennai ATC started clearing flights from Chennai at around 10.30 am and allowed the diverted flights to come back after 12 noon. “As many as 37 flights were delayed due to Bhogi smog till evening. As the outgoing flights were delayed, their return schedules were also affected,” airport sources said.
Meanwhile, A day after activists of Naam Tamizhar organised jallikattu on the outskirts of the coastal town of Cuddalore, villagers in Karisalkulam in Madurai and a few other villagers in Nagapattinam and Thanjavur organised symbolic events.
Police took 20 people into custody in Nagapattinam district.
Alanganallur, the epicentre of Jallikattu the traditional sport held on Maatu Pongal Day, looks like a fortress with more than 1,000 policemen guarding the tiny village to ensure that villagers don’t defy the Supreme Court ban by conducting Jallikattu.