<p>Commuters had a tough time reaching the Kempegowda International Airport ( KIA) on Saturday as BMTC buses and a majority of cabs remained off the roads following the bandh called over the Mahadayi water dispute. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Rajesh Devreddy, a resident of HSR Layout who had to catch a flight to Chennai said he had a hard time reaching the airport as a few private taxis were hesitant to ply fearing attacks by pro-Kannada groups. He said: “It usually takes five minutes to book a private cab. However, on Saturday, it took me 20 minutes to get a vehicle after much persuasion of the management of a cab service. Luckily, I reached on time.”<br /><br />At Hebbal, close to Esteem Mall, members of a few Kannada groups riding two-wheelers blocked other vehicles, putting those heading towards the airport to hardship. <br /><br />Keval J, a techie from Koramanagala who landed in the city from his hometown, New Delhi, said he was unaware of the bandh. “There is a private cab service available at the airport but there is a huge rush. I would have postponed my schedule had I known about today’s bandh,” he said.<br /><br />A staffer from the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation ( KSTDC), Manjunath K N said there was a 25% drop in airport taxi services. Usually, from morning till noon, about 2,000 airport taxis ply. On Friday, only about 1,000 to 1,500 cabs operated by noon, he said. <br /><br />There were heated arguments between commuters and taxi drivers, specially those going towards places like Malleswaram, Nagawara, Marathahalli and KR Puram, according to a private taxi operator due to the increased demand and shortage of taxi services. Karnataka Rakshana Vedike ( KRV) activists stormed KIA around 4 am on Saturday but they were detained by the police. </p>
<p>Commuters had a tough time reaching the Kempegowda International Airport ( KIA) on Saturday as BMTC buses and a majority of cabs remained off the roads following the bandh called over the Mahadayi water dispute. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Rajesh Devreddy, a resident of HSR Layout who had to catch a flight to Chennai said he had a hard time reaching the airport as a few private taxis were hesitant to ply fearing attacks by pro-Kannada groups. He said: “It usually takes five minutes to book a private cab. However, on Saturday, it took me 20 minutes to get a vehicle after much persuasion of the management of a cab service. Luckily, I reached on time.”<br /><br />At Hebbal, close to Esteem Mall, members of a few Kannada groups riding two-wheelers blocked other vehicles, putting those heading towards the airport to hardship. <br /><br />Keval J, a techie from Koramanagala who landed in the city from his hometown, New Delhi, said he was unaware of the bandh. “There is a private cab service available at the airport but there is a huge rush. I would have postponed my schedule had I known about today’s bandh,” he said.<br /><br />A staffer from the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation ( KSTDC), Manjunath K N said there was a 25% drop in airport taxi services. Usually, from morning till noon, about 2,000 airport taxis ply. On Friday, only about 1,000 to 1,500 cabs operated by noon, he said. <br /><br />There were heated arguments between commuters and taxi drivers, specially those going towards places like Malleswaram, Nagawara, Marathahalli and KR Puram, according to a private taxi operator due to the increased demand and shortage of taxi services. Karnataka Rakshana Vedike ( KRV) activists stormed KIA around 4 am on Saturday but they were detained by the police. </p>
