Meat and fish will not be sold or cut anywhere in a wide belt around Namo Ghat from 19 October until the Indian Air Force's aerial display over the Ganga is over, Varanasi Municipal Commissioner Himanshu Nagpal said on Wednesday. The aim is to keep birds away from the sky above the river while fighter jets fly low over the ghats.
The display marks the 94th anniversary of the Indian Air Force and will be held in the last week of October, with 25 October the main day. The Uttar Pradesh government has declared it a state event, Nagpal said. Readers looking for the viewing points, parking and day-wise plan can find them in our complete guide to the Varanasi IAF air show.
The ban covers a wide radius around the ghat, which officials have put at 20 to 30 km, and includes both the sale and the cutting of meat and fish. Bird strikes are a well-known hazard for aircraft flying close to the ground. Open meat and fish waste draws kites and crows in large numbers, and that is what the administration wants to avoid over the river during the show.
For traders and households across a large part of the city, the practical effect starts on Monday, 19 October. Shops within the restricted zone are expected to stay shut from that day until the display ends, and families who buy fresh fish or meat during the festival week may need to plan around it. The exact boundary of the zone and any exemptions had not been announced by Thursday morning.
The Varanasi Municipal Corporation will also run a special cleanliness drive from 20 to 26 October in the city and around the venue to keep bird activity down. Deep-water stretches of the Ganga near the ghats are being marked, with barricades and warning boards, and barriers will go up on risky paths that lead from the ghats down to the water to keep spectators out of deep water.
Mobile toilets are being set up at Namo Ghat and nearby, with regular cleaning arranged. Nagpal described the display as a matter of great pride for Varanasi and said the corporation was responsible for cleanliness at and around Namo Ghat, barricading in the Ganga, the closure of meat shops to prevent bird hits and toilets for the public.
The health department has drawn up its own plan. According to the Chief Medical Officer, a six-bed temporary hospital will be set up at Namo Ghat, and 225 beds will be kept reserved in city hospitals. The arrangements will be active from 20 October and will be monitored from the city command centre near the municipal corporation offices, where medical officers will be on duty and in touch with the Air Force's own medical team.
All 84 ghats have been divided into sectors, the CMO said, with a medical team posted alongside the police in each one. On the other bank, a team from the Chandauli health department, its medical college and Shastri Hospital in Ramnagar will cover the Ramnagar and Domri side, an area expected to draw many spectators.
Hospitals have been given a checklist. Blood banks have been asked to update their directories of registered donors, and government and private hospitals have been told to keep their oxygen equipment in working order by 15 October, with a mock drill planned. Life-saving medicines are to be kept in reserve, and each hospital will name a nodal officer whose number will be shared with the Air Force medical team.
A green corridor will be created with the police for ambulances from Namo Ghat to BHU and to the divisional hospital at Kabirchaura. A full rehearsal is planned along the ghats two days before the show.
The display has a local link beyond the river view. Defence spokesperson Wing Commander Debartho Dhar said the Air Force's No. 4 Air Force Selection Board has been working in Varanasi since January 1976, testing and selecting candidates for officer posts, including computerised pilot selection tests for the flying branch. The display is being staged by the Central Air Command, based at Bamrauli in Prayagraj, which completes 60 years there in 2026.
According to the Air Force, detailed timings, public viewing areas, traffic, parking and security guidelines will be issued separately, and the public has been asked to follow only official information. Police and civil officials have already held planning meetings, as reported when the Chief Minister reviewed the Namo Ghat plan and police prepared for large crowds, and earlier when preparations at Namo Ghat for crowds and VIP arrangements picked up.
Large crowds are expected on the ghats and the far bank on the main day. For now, the first date that touches daily life is 19 October, when the meat and fish counters near the river are due to close.
