Protests, traffic jams choke Bangalore
Bangalore: Nearly 5000 workers from the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) staged a protest and blocked the road in front of Freedom Park as a major chunk of space inside the park was occupied by the khadi expo, causing a massive traffic jam that lasted nearly three hoÂurs in the heart of the city on Thursday.
The CITU workers joined hands with AngaÂnawadi workers to carry out a protest rally, which started at the city railway station around 11.30 am and ended at Freedom Park around 2.30 pm.
The procession also caused disruption of traffic as it passed through parts of Rajajinagar, BasÂavesÂhwarÂanagar, Malleswaram, MajÂestic, ChamÂrajpet, Sadashivanagar and R.T. Nagar. Even airport bound buses were stuck in a traffic jam for nearly three hours.
The BMTC bus service got paralysed as most buses were unable to even get out of Majestic bus terminus. The city police, in anticipation of traffic disruptions, blocked the flyover on Anand Rao circle toward Seshadri Road and diverted the traffic toward Race Course Road.
The police and radio stations flashed warnings telling motÂorists to avoid KG Road, ShanÂtala junction, Sangolli RayaÂnna junction, HudÂson circle junction and Vidhana Soudha.
“Several BMTC, Vayu Vajra Volvo buses, including all route no 9 vehicles got stuck in the jam. This causÂed a huge delay, but all the buses managed to complete their journey,” said BMTC officer Ashok Kumar.