As tourists throng Mysuru for Dasara, city roads are choking with traffic

Mysuru: With just three days left for the grand finale of Mysuru Dasara — with the Jamboo Savari being on Thursday, the city is witnessing a big influx of tourists and the roads are choked with vehicular traffic. Vehicles are lining up on Chamaraja Double Road, Vidyapeetha Circle, Sayyaji Rao Road, Hunsur Road, Bogadi Road and others. 

Tourists from across Karnataka are descending on Mysuru, ahead of the Vijayadashami procession on Thursday, to witness various Darasa-related events.

Over the last two days, apart from the heart of the city, traffic jams were witnessed near the Bannimantapa Ground, where the air show and drone show are being held.

“I had taken out my wife and two-year-old daughter, Hasini, to show the city illumination. We got stuck on Chamaraja Double Road for more than 25 minutes. We thought of returning home at one point, but that was also not possible. There were no exit points, with several roads being blocked and only one-way traffic being allowed,” said Deepesh of Vijayanagar.   

Autorickshaw drivers overcharging

As many people are keen on visiting various venues where Dasara events are underway, they prefer taking an autorickshaw to reach all these places. However, there have been complaints of autorickshaw drivers overcharging, sometimes even double the actual fare, and fleecing customers.

“Autorickshaw drivers demanded Rs 350 from the flower show venue to Hebbal at 5:30 pm, while the usual fare is around Rs 130. We waited for a long time, as no auto driver was ready to charge less, we had to pay through the nose to return home,” said Lakshmi, a city resident. 

Kavya, who had taken guests from Bengaluru for the drone show at Bannimantapa Ground on Sunday, had a tough time negotiating with auto drivers.

None of the auto drivers was charging less than Rs 350 for a 2.5-km ride from the ground to Metagalli. "As it was past 9.30 pm, we finally paid Rs 320 and reached home,” she said.

Traffic restrictions

Anticipating a heavy inflow of tourist vehicles, city Police Commissioner Seema Latkar has issued orders restricting the movement of vehicles on particular routes and imposing one-way traffic rule.

Temporary ‘No-parking’ zones have been marked at many places in the city. The city police have also imposed a one-way traffic rule around Mysuru Palace and major roads between 3 pm and midnight from September 22 to October 2, to facilitate the smooth movement of vehicles during the Dasara festival.

They have also banned parking on roads in the heart of the city till the Dasara festivities are over.

Anti-clockwise and one-way traffic is being allowed around Mysuru palace, on Sayyaji Rao Road and other places to prevent traffic jams.

However, with heavy crowds thronging the city, police personnel are finding it difficult to control the movement of vehicles, especially during the illumination hours.

Many vehicles, including two-wheelers, either slow down or even stop as people want to capture the illumination on their phones. This has a domino effect and leads to gridlock. Traffic police personnel are making announcements at vantage points asking people to keep moving to clear traffic bottlenecks.