Frame rules on rallies, govt told

Frame rules on rallies, govt told
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: The high court on Wednesday asked the state government to file a statement by November 26 on the broad outlines and long-term measures on how they propose to tackle the situation of rallies and resultant traffic chaos. The government on its part admitted its failure to regulate the situation following a political rally on Monday.
“We don’t want to do any postmortem and also at the same time we do not want any short measures. This is a recurring feature. We need a permanent solution. You should have a plan; say for the next 10 years. As of now only when a president or prime minister visits, people are forewarned about traffic regulations. There seems to be lack of vision. When things happen like they did on Monday, there is no alternative to tackle the situation. What were the intelligence doing? As far as the proposal of providing the 6-acre Freedom Park (Old Central jail) is concerned, it will not be feasible to hold lakhs of people. Since it is in the heart of the city, it will not be possible to control the traffic,” the division Bench headed by Justice S R Bannurmath observed before adjourning the case.
Advocate General Udaya Holla told the court that framing of necessary rules under Police Act is under way. In the city, there are only two places available for such rallies (Palace Grounds and National College ground).
“As far as Monday is concerned, it is everyone’s failure. We expected 5,000 vehicles and there were more than 7,000,” he conceded.
One of the advocates said that public and private transport should not be allowed to be misused for ferrying people to such rallies.
The Bench was hearing a batch of petitions filed by city-based advocate A V Amaranathan, senior citizen B Krishna Bhat, litterateur K Marulasiddappa and Shudra Shrinivasa and others highlighting the travails of the people during rallies and processions held by political parties.