Passersby and motorists were taken by surprise when they spotted a plane that 'landed' at Bengaluru's famous Minsk Square. A full scale mock-up model of one of the variants of India's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) has been now installed at the historic Minsk Square.
Prior to the metro rail work, a model of Ajeet (Gnat) single-seater interceptor developed by HAL under license donned Minsk Square for several years. For over 10 years till 2009, Minsk Square became one of the key tourist spots in Bengaluru. Ajeet was operational with the Indian Air Force from 1975 to 1991.
The news of the return of a plane to Minsk Square was welcomed with great fanfare by aficionados. A closed group on Facebook called Bygone Bangalore was the first to post a series of reactions on the plane model getting back to Minsk Square.
Interestingly, the prestige of Minsk Square is being put back at a time when HAL is celebrating its 75th anniversary. HAL had an in-house publication named Minsk Square Matters (MSM), which carried the image of the Ajeet on its masthead.
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