People from all faiths from different parts of the City and neighbouring states congregated at the Basilica. The 10-day festivities culminate in a grand procession on September 8.
An estimated 40,000 worshippers gathered to attend the evening prayer. It was bumper to bumper traffic for commuters travelling on roads like Cubbon Road (the stretch from CTO Circle to Manipal Circle) and St Marks Road, said traffic police.
“Between 5 pm and 7 pm, vehicles were not allowed to ply on the roads approaching Shivaji Nagar. All the vehicles coming from Infantry Road towards Shivaji Nagar were diverted near CTO Circle to move on Cubbon Road. Besides, movement of vehicles was banned towards Shivaji Nagar on BRV junction during the same time,” the traffic police officials said.
Though traffic police have taken all possible measures to tackle the situation, commuters had to face lots of problems due to the traffic jam.
However, according to BA Muthanna, DCP (Traffic East) the department has taken all steps to handle the situation on September 5 (Sunday) and September 8, the final day of the celebration. “On September 8, the crowd will be more than this. We will not allow vehicular movement on all the roads leading to Shivaji Nagar,” he said.
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