Protesters hijack city roads yet again

Protesters hijack city roads yet again
At least six groups of protesters left various streets choc-a-bloc for hours together on Thursday, showing scant regard for the public
ADITI SONI AND SHASHWATHI BHANUKUMAR

The administration seem to have learnt little from the recent JDS rally on Palace Grounds which brought many parts of the city to a stand-still. Thursday morning witnessed almost the same situation, with six protests and rallies held right in the heart of the city.
RALLY 1: CONGRESS
One of the rallies was held by Congress as part of its ongoing protests against the way the anti-terrorism campaign is conducted in colleges. The protesters gathered in front of Jnana Jyoti Auditorium on the Central College Premises. Though the collage was closed, students who came for other purposes had a tough time getting in from the auditorium side. Policemen were seen letting the students enter the premises one by one through the barricades they put up across the entrance.The drama continued till the arrest of D K Shiv Kumar, MLA Krishna Byre Gowda and their supporters.
RALLY 2: JD(S)
Another rally was organised by JDS at Mysore Bank circle, in front of the Central College, over the same issue. The protests continued till the arrest of a few leaders.
RALLY 3: ANGANWADI STAFF
The Palace Road was thronged by anganwadi workers from Kolar who were rallying for pension and a salary hike. “The government expects us to maintain all records of births and deaths in the area. But when it comes to salary, all they give is Rs 40 per day. How can we manage our expenses with this amount? Moreover, those who retire from the jobs don’t even get pension,” said K M Siddagangamma who led the group.
RALLY 4: BSP
BSP workers took out a protest march against the government’s alleged acquisition of land that belonged to the poor to build a residential layout. Hundreds of activists marched from the City Railway Station to the Banappa Park opposite St Martha’s Hospital.
Shishir Doshi, a financial analyst from Rajajinagar, said, “I was going from Rajajinagar underpass to Okalipuram area. But I had to wait for over 50 minutes, because there was a long traffic jam there.”
RALLY 5: CITU
CITU members blocked the entire stretch from Anand Rao Circle to Maharani College. Milind Dharmasen, a music director, said, “It was disappointing to see the 120-feet road from city railway station to Maharani College chock-abloc with more than one lakh people supporting the CITU rally. I thought the administration has learnt a good lesson from the recent JDS rally. But today also, instead of leaving at least half of the road for vehicles to pass, the activists blocked the complete road.”
“I had to wait in my car for more than one hour. I called up the Deputy Commissioner of Police, who came and streamlined the situation. With such a huge crowd, the cops were also helpless,” he added.
RALLY 6: COFFEE GROWERS
The sixth rally was taken out by Coffee Growers’ Association. Though the other protests left Ambedkar Veedhi and even M G Road clogged for a while, the traffic started moving, though at a snail’s pace.