The swearing-in ceremony of the new government at Kanteerava Stadium at 12.30 p,m. on Saturday is expected to see crowds in the range of 50,000 to 1 lakh gather, even as several Chief Ministers of other states across the country will grace the occasion. This is expected to throw traffic out of gear in the Central Business District (CBD) areas.
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Bengaluru Traffic Police have imposed traffic restrictions around Kanteerava Stadium and on Queens’ Road, where celebrations are likely to peak in front of the Congress party’s State headquarters. While this itself is expected to create a snowball effect and disrupt traffic in CBD areas, several VVIPs living in various hotels around the CBD area will be given a signal-free corridor to and from Kanteerava Stadium.
Not just the CBD area, traffic snarls are expected on Mysuru Road and Kanakapura Road, as supporters of Siddaramaiah from Mysuru side and supporters of D.K. Shivakumar from Kanakapura are expected to throng the city in large numbers. Apart from this, Congress workers and supporters from across the State are expected to throng the venue.
Given that traffic snarls peak in CBD areas on Saturdays, this is only going to add to the woes of commuters on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the city police have made all preparations to turn Kanteerava Stadium into a fortress for the swearing-in ceremony. Over 1,500 police personnel led by multiple additional commissioners and DCPs will be deployed at the venue, apart from a heavy deployment of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) and City Armed Reserve (CAR).