Processions hold up traffic

Processions hold up traffic

The Hindu

Candidates come with supporters to file nominations for panchayat polls

BANGALORE: Traffic came to a near halt in the central parts of Bangalore for more than three hours on Saturday. Being the last day for filing nominations for the zilla and taluk panchayat elections, candidates of various political parties came in huge processions to file their nominations at the Bangalore Urban district Deputy Commissioner's office on Kempe Gowda Road.

Thousands of supporters of the Congress, the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party came in processions around the same time. Hundreds of vehicles, buses, vans, multi-utility vehicles and autorickshaws in which the supporters arrived were parked haphazardly all along Kempe Gowda Road. Several vehicles were parked even on the footpaths.

As Kempe Gowda Road was blocked, traffic was affected in surrounding areas such as J.C. Road, Nrupathunga Road, Palace Road, Seshadri Road, Mission Road, Hudson Circle, Minerva Circle and Anandrao Circle.

The police found it difficult to get the vehicles removed from Kempe Gowda Road, as they could not trace the drivers.

Police diverted traffic on to Nrupathunga Road. It took nearly one hour for motorists to reach Hudson Circle from Minerva Circle.

Most of the traffic police officials, who were attending a meeting at the Police Commissioner's office, had to leave the meeting midway to attend to the problem.

Vehicular movement was also affected for some time on B.R. Ambedkar Veedhi, Infantry Road and Queen's Road as thousands of people accompanied the candidates who filed their nominations at the office of the Returning Officer for Bangalore Rural district, situated in the Visvesvaraya Towers.