JD(S) rally on Saturday: Recipe for a jam

JD(S) rally on Saturday: Recipe for a jam
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The Janata Dal (Secular) rally scheduled for Saturday at the Palace Grounds has all the makings of another maddening morning for the city’s motorists. At 11.30 a.m, when it is scheduled, people will still be trying to wriggle out of peak hour traffic.

Though the city police claim to have made adequate arrangements to ensure that traffic is not held up for more than 10 minutes at any point, history has proved that such tamashas last much longer and block several roads, triggering a cascading effect.

JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, clarifying on traffic disruptions, said the proposed rally on Saturday will not disturb normal life in Bangalore. But he surely must know that cavalcades of buses, tempos and autorickshaws carrying JD(S) supporters in and around Bangalore, passing through busy roads, markets and intersections are all a recipe for a jam.

According to sources, JD(S) supporters will descend on the venue in 24 vehicles from Bangalore outskirts to join the rally. These vehicles will enter the ground through the Mekhri Circle entrance. And another cavalcade of at least 15 vehicles of local JD(S) supporters will join them through Sankey Road entrance.

“Traffic will have to be stopped at Mekhri Circle entrance and Vasanthnagar to let the supporters pass. A massive traffic snarl is possible at these entrances especially in Mekhri Circle as vehicles on all four sides will have to be held up,” a senior police officer said.

The rally is scheduled to end around 3 p.m., JD(S) sources said. And after the rally, the vehicles will head towards the city bus stand, Chikkalasandra, Okalipuram and other areas where the supporters will be dropped.

Meanwhile, additional commissioner of police K.V.R. Tagore assured fool-proof security and said no other protests will be allowed from other groups near the grounds. More than 100 policemen have been deployed in and around the ground on Saturday.