Karnataka - Bangalore   

City gets away lightly this time

BANGALORE: Much to the relief of Bangloreans, the huge crowd turnout at the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa at the Vidhana Soudha on Monday did not lead to traffic jams in the central business district as feared.

However, the movement of vehicles was slow on some roads in the central parts of the city for nearly two hours. As BJP supporters from different towns started coming to the city in buses and vans since 7 a.m., traffic was severely affected on Tumkur Road, Bellary Road, Mysore Road and Magadi Road till 10 a.m. The extra buses plied by the KSRTC to cater to the festival rush also contributed to the chaos on these roads.

After nearly 40,000 people gathered in front of the Vidhana Soudha to witness the swearing-in ceremony, the police closed the B.R. Ambedkar Veedhi from 11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Vehicles were not allowed towards GPO Circle from K.R. Circle and vice versa.

Police diverted the vehicles through Cubbon Park, Nrupathunga Road, Kastruba Road, Raj Bhavan Road and T. Chowdaiah Road. The diversion led to a bumper-to-bumper ride on these roads, and the Cubbon Park was choked. However, there was no gridlock such as the one witnessed following the BJP demonstration near the Mahatma Gandhi statue a few days ago.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic-Central) K. Eshwar Prasad told The Hindu that hundreds of buses, which ferried the BJP supporters from various towns, were parked at Palace Grounds. As the supporters came in processions from Palace Grounds to the Vidhana Soudha, vehicles crawled on Bellary Road, Ramana Maharshi Road, Sankey Road and Raj Bhavan Road, he said.

Even after the swearing-in ceremony was over, hundreds of party supporters kept marching towards the Vidhana Soudha. The police had a tough time in controlling the drum-beating supporters who even marched through Cubbon Park and the High Court premises to reach the venue.

Lawyers frequenting between the High Court and city courts on Nrupathunga Road and sessions court near Cauvery Bhavan were forced to walk as B.R. Ambedkar Veedhi was closed for traffic. Lawyer P. Munikrishna said he could not take out his vehicle from the High Court parking lot as the Cubbon Park was almost clogged.

As the entry to the venue of the swearing-in ceremony was only through the passes issued by the Government, the police strictly turned back those without the passes. This led to heated exchanges between the party workers and the policemen. Some people, including a reporter from The Hindu, lost their wallets in the melee at the Eastern entrance gate of the Vidhana Soudha.

Most of the supporters who had come to witness the occasion were from Mr. Yeddyurappa’s home constituency of Shikaripura in Shimoga district.

The second biggest contingent was from Malur in Kolar district, followed by the supporters of the Honnali MLA M.P. Renukacharya.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

A political carnival with saffron overtones at the seat of power
Free diabetes consultation
City gets away lightly this time
Peace time terror acts, the biggest challenge
Sakrama: touts out to make money from violations
Office-bearers
Design a stamp
Man mugged by cab driver
Heavy damage as shamiana warehouse catches fire
Puja in Chief Minister’s official chamber
Power supply to be hit
Writer’s caution on contentious issues
Veterinarian undergoes surgery
Development process will be speeded up: Chief Minister
The designs for Metro Rail are out, now have your say
Passports despatched
Cyclone: farmers in State cautioned
‘Political tussle sidelining real issues’
‘Bhasha Mandakini’ set for launch
HC admits petition on privatisation of lakes
Narendra Modi’s suggestion
Government will complete its term: Rajnath

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu