Commuters travelling on the stretch in and around Majestic and also Vidhana Soudha on Friday had a harrowing experience as traffic clogged resulting in a huge traffic jam that lasted for more than four hours.
Motorists and bus commuters were taken by surprise as hundreds of cane farmers from across the State marched from the City railway station towards the Vidhana Soudha. The farmers were protesting against the failure of the State government to secure the sugarcane farmers’ dues from sugar mills.
According to the traffic police, the farmers, who arrived at the City railway station, blocked the entire stretch connecting City railway station and Freedom Park.
Even the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses ferrying passengers to Banashakari, Basavanagudi, Shivajinagar, Colespark, Hennur cross, Jayanagar, Uttarahalli were stuck in the jam. So much so that buses were stranded inside the Kempegowda Bus Station (KBS). Sources also said buses coming from outside toward the bus-stand could not enter the terminal.
BMTC officials’ attempts to clear the jam went in vain. Several frustrated passengers were seen getting down from buses and walking towards their destinations. Some passengers even tried jumping across the barricade that has been put up between railway station and KBS.
Over 120 traffic police personnel were deployed, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic West) S. Girish. “It was not a traffic jam but the road was blocked and there was extremely slow moving traffic for about four hours. The traffic police did their best to manage the traffic, all of which had come towards Basaveshwara circle via the JD(S) office. Basaveshwara circle itself sees heavy movement of vehicles throughout the day and diverted traffic only made it worse,” he said.
About 800 people blocked the entrance to the flyover near Freedom Park, police sources said.
The protest was called off in the evening when some leaders met the Chief Minister to submit their demands and got an assurance from him.
