Farmers' protest hits traffic

Farmers' protest hits traffic

The Hindu

BANGALORE: Motorists had a harrowing time negotiating slow moving traffic in the central business district on Friday after the protest by KRRS on Raj Bhavan Road threw the traffic movement out of gear.

The KRRS activists from Mandya district who were protesting the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal squatted on Raj Bhavan Road, occupying more than half of the road even as the leaders addressed them.

Chaos

This led to slowing down in traffic movement that eventually caused chaos in the surrounding area.

Following the protest by the farmers, traffic snarls were witnessed for nearly two hours on Raj Bhavan Road, Infantry Road, Cunningham Road, Kasturba Road, Hudson Circle, J.C. Road, Seshadri Road, Palace Road, M.G. Road and surrounding areas, while at several places, the traffic had come to a standstill.

A Deputy Commissioner of Police said he had to walk from his office on Infantry Road to Raj Bhavan Road where protesters were waiting for their leaders who had gone to meet Governor T.N. Chaturvedi.

According to Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M.N. Reddi, the traffic snarls witnessed in the city business district was due to the protest staged by farmers.

The police officials later persuaded Mr. Puttannaiah to withdraw the protest on Raj Bhavan Road as traffic jams had been reported at several places.

Only after the protesters dispersed, normality was restored in the traffic movement. A police official said that if the protests had continued during the peak traffic hours, the central business district would have witnessed chaos.