Cong rally causes gridlocks across city

The Congress's Janashirvadha Yatra on Sunday threw traffic out of gear along roads leading to Palace Grounds, the venue.

Party supporters began entering the city around 4 pm from several districts. Nearly 4,500 buses were booked to ferry supporters.

Traffic came to a standstill from Hebbal flyover till Palace Grounds.

Buses entered the city from all major roads like Tumakuru Road, Ballari Road, Kanakapura Road and Mysuru Road which had a cascading effect on traffic movement in the central business district.

Many motorists began moving in one-ways, causing a blockade. Traffic came to a standstill for a while around Vidhana Soudha, Chalukya Circle to Palace Grounds, Majestic, K G Road, BBMP office, J C Road, Palace Road, Sadhashivanagar and Vyalikaval.

Passengers coming from the Kempegowda International Airport were stranded for hours.

Vehicles started pilling up around 4 pm in C V Raman Nagar, Sankey, Raj Bhavan, Cunningham Road, Shivajinagar, Mehkri Circle, K R Circle, Cantonment, Sanjaynagar and R T Nagar, and continued till late in the evening.

Some supporters began walking towards Palace Grounds.

A senior police officer said they had instructed Congress workers to ensure that their supporters reach the venue by 2 pm.

Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Chikkajala, said, "I saw at least eight ambulances that were stuck in traffic."

Since no parking space was provided to these buses inside the Palace Grounds, they were parked haphazardly on either side of the road, which worsened the situation.

Kishor B, another motorist who was struck in the traffic, said such rallies should be held on the outskirts at venues like the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre.

"It seems like the magnitude of traffic jams and inconvenience caused to people are parameters for rating the success of their rallies. Holding such programmes inside the city shows the insensitivity of our policymakers. This is the same with all political parties," Kishor said.