One rally, and traffic goes haywire

One rally, and traffic goes haywire
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Traffic came to a standstill for about an hour on JC Road on Tuesday due to protest rallies on KG Road. The teachers serving in unaided educational institutions took out a procession to press for their demands.

Road users suffered when traffic started to move at a snail’s pace on JC Road and it took at least 30-minutes for vehicles to pass the Town Hall junction. The policemen switched off the signal lights and were seen regulating the traffic, which kept on growing.

JC Road is one of the most crowded roads in Bangalore because of the bottleneck at the Town Hall junction. Vehicles coming from all sides - from JC Road, City Market and Mysore Road flyover - converge at Town Hall junction and clear through the narrow stretch opposite Canara Bank.

A senior police officer said that just one procession around Ulsoor Gate police station was enough to throw the traffic off the gear. The blockade also spills over to many roads leading to or originating from Town Hall.

When asked why the Police were allowing the rallies on arterial roads, the police officer said that the subject was before the government and it will have to take a final call.

There was a proposal to ban rallies on the City roads and restrict them to a playground so that roads become free of congestion.

The government, however, has not taken a decision, though precious man-hours are lost in traffic snarls affecting productivity.