For second time in 4 days, motorists hit by Congress rally in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: For the second time in less than a week, a Congress protest on Thursday choked vital roads in central business district (CBD), leaving lakhs of commuters stranded.
Major traffic jams were witnessed in and around Vidhana Soudha, Raj Bhavan, Queens Circle, Ambedkar Veedi, Cunningham Road, Cubbon Road, KR Circle, Corporation Circle, Richmond Circle, Double Road, Shoolay Circle, Mayo Hall junction, Trinity Circle and Infantry Road.
The traffic disruption occurred in the morning after thousands of Congress leaders and workers took out the march from the KPCC office on Queens Road to Raj Bhavan. However, they were blocked at Queens Circle.
Though diversions were made for vehicles coming from Jayamahal, Cantonment, Vasantnagar, Palace Road, Fraser Town, Cox Town, Promenade Road, Naga junction, Dickenson Road and Manipal Centre, traffic moved at a snail’s pace.
A posse of police led by two deputy commissioners and five assistant commissioners was deployed in and around Queens Circle, Infantry Road and Raj Bhavan. Also, three platoons of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) were stationed near Queens Circle.
Commuters criticised the protesters, saying it was the general public which suffered. “Politicians have cars and other vehicles to move around. But people like us are stranded on the road whenever there is a rally. Many autorickshaw drivers like me are stuck in this traffic jam. Who will pay for our lost hours?” said an autorickshaw driver near Cunningham Road.
A similar rally by Congress on Monday from Lalbagh main gate to the Enforcement Directorate office in Shantinagar had brought traffic to a halt in CBD for over six hours. The same day, a serial accident on Mysuru Road and a visit by president Ram Nath Kovind had also contributed to commuters’ woes.