CBD: Traffic crawls as Valmiki communty take to streets

Traffic in the Central Business District (CBD) and all major roads in and around the Vidhana Soudha was paralysed for several hours as protestors belonging to the Valmiki community tried to lay siege to the seat of power demanding 7.5% reservation in education and employment.

The agitators had come in large numbers in buses and other vehicles, which stopped in the Majestic area.

Traffic movement in Majestic, Seshadri Road, Race Course Road, Palace Road and from Maurya Circle until Mehkri Circle was thrown out of gear as protestors marched from Majestic towards the Freedom Park.

Traffic cops helpless

Commuters were stuck for a long time from Sankey Tank leading to Basaveshwara Circle until the Bangalore Development Authority's (BDA) head office while the city traffic police looked on helplessly.

Office-goers and students bore the brunt of the traffic jam.

Police had a tough time managing protesters as they started targeting government vehicles and tried to stop them, leading to heated arguments between protesters and police.

Finally, with the help of additional police personnel, protesters were forced back to the Freedom Park.

One of the agitators said the protest had started across Karnataka as they wanted the state government to implement reservation. He warned of further protests if the government failed to address their demands. The Valmikis, a Scheduled Tribe (ST), enjoy 3% reservation.