Congress workers, who arrived in Bangalore from across Karnataka for the Naada Rakshana Rally, caused a pile-up of traffic, and the movement of vehicles in the areas surrounding Malleswaram near Jakkarayana Kere was reduced to a crawl.
Those who were heading to Mantri Mall for the weekend were in for an unpleasant surprise on Sunday.
Congress workers, who arrived in the capital from across the state for the Naada Rakshana Rally, caused a pile-up of traffic, and the movement of vehicles in the areas surrounding Malleswaram near Jakkarayana Kere was reduced to a crawl.
Traffic police said Congress workers had come from across the state, in over 1,300 vehicles. The vehicles and the marches threw traffic out of gear.
Traffic police had announced alternative routes for those using the stretches of road through which the rally would pass. Despite, the plans, though, vehicular movement remained slow through the day on Sunday.
There was also an unannounced closure of the CNR Rao junction, work has been happening on an underpass near it. For the past one month, the road from the 18th Cross, Malleswaram, toward IISc had been closed.
On Sunday, however, traffic was not allowed in the opposite direction as well. Traffic police said that the underpass work had caused some cracks on the road, and traffic was stopped to prevent untoward incidents.
Meanwhile, with the large gathering for the Chitra Santhe at Kumara Krupa Road, traffic was cut off along that stretch too on Sunday. More than 1,000 traffic policemen were deployed to manage traffic in this area.
“There was no report of traffic jam due to either the rally or the Chitra Santhe. However, it is true that the flow of traffic was very slow,” said Panduranga H Rane, deputy commissioner of police, west division.
Police said that vehicles carrying rallyists started arriving in the city from 9.30 am. The flow of incoming traffic continued till noon. By the time the vehicles left, it was past 4 pm. Nearly 600 vehicles were parked at the private parking lot at Vatal Nagaraj Road, 250 were parked at Freedom Park, and more than 200 at Malleswaram 18th Cross. Party leaders parked their vehicles at Sirur Park.
A senior official said, “Traffic police had planned the flow of traffic on Sunday, and also the parking. There were no major jams.”
Hundreds gathered in front of the Mantri Mall. The crowd continued to swell till the end of the rally, at around 3 pm. Visitors to the mall were a confused lot. Police had been deployed in large numbers here on Sunday to prevent untoward incidents.
Kumara Krupa Road was out of bounds for vehicles on Sunday as it was the venue of the Chitra Santhe. Vehicles were diverted to Railway Parallel Road and through Race Course Road, which witnessed heavy traffic flow.
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