Mock drill brings Ulsoor to a crawl, cops blame 'usual traffic'

Bengaluru: Traffic crawled on the roads around Ulsoor Lake on Wednesday during civil defence mock drills at the Home Guards and Civil Defence Academy in east Bengaluru.

However, the police maintained that it was typical weekday evening traffic.

The mock drills lasted for nearly 3.5 hours, from 3 pm to 7.30 pm. During this period — especially between 5.30 pm and 6.30 pm — roads around the venue were choked due to VVIP movement, roadside parking, and ongoing civic works in east Bengaluru.

Sahil Bagla, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), East, told DH that there wasn’t much of a traffic problem, calling it only slightly heavier than usual weekday traffic.

Bagla noted that three police inspectors and 25–30 personnel, including sub-inspectors, assistant sub-inspectors, and constables, were deployed to manage the traffic situation.

Another police officer said that most of the mock drill attendees had parked their two-wheelers along the roadside, leaving less space for vehicle movement around the lake. Additionally, several ongoing civic works in the areas surrounding Ulsoor also contributed to the congestion.