Bengaluru: Huge jams brought the city’s traffic to a standstill on Tuesday following British Prime Minister Theresa May’s one-day visit to Bengaluru. Arterial roads where the May’s motorcade passed wreaked havoc for commuters as vehicles moved at a snail’s pace.
The traffic on MG Road, St Mark’s Road and Museum Road got badly hit when the convoy moved towards Ulsoor. The PM’s itinerary included a visit to the city’s oldest Someshwara Temple.
Although the city traffic police had anticipated traffic snarls and warned commuters to use alternate roads on Tuesday afternoon, but they were of little help. Despite police vans stationed around Ulsoor, vehicles crawled, making commuters expressed unhappy over the congestion.
Magesh, a private firm employee on MG Road, complained, “I was stuck at Trinity Junction for more than an hour and it took me 45 minutes to cross just 2 km. Although I tried using the shortcuts, they too were jammed and did not help much.”
The traffic police said that traffic came to a grinding halt on MG Road, Anil Kumble Circle, BRV Junction, Cubbon Road, KR Road, Cubbon Road Junction, Manipal Center Junction, Webs Junction, Trinity Circle, Kensignton Road and on to Hotel Taj Vivanta between 2 pm and 3.30 pm.
“Vehicles remained stuck on the road for more than an hour. We managed to clear the congestion by 3:15 pm, soon after the convoy left the intersection,” a policeman said.
It was not just commuters at M.G Road, but those at Ulsoor too felt the pinch when the PM’s convoy moved from Someshwara Temple to Taj West End Hotel.
A traffic cop at Ulsoor, said, “We had issued advisories and appealed to people to avoid Bazaar Street , Ramaiah Circle, Trinity Circle, Web Junction, Manipal Junction, Cubbon Road, CTO Circle, Raj Bhavan Road, Basaveshwara Circle and Race Course Road. We had advised the people in advance that the VVIP movement will hamper general traffic movement. We had made ample arrangements and policemen were deployed to help commuters. However, during the arrival of convoy there was traffic congestion.”
Similarly, traffic was affected on Race Course Road, Basaweshwara Circle, T. Chowdaiah Road, Windsor Manor Junction, Cauvery Junction, Mekhri Circle, Hebbal, Esteem Mall, Kogilu Cross, Bagaluru Cross, Chikkajala, Sadahalli and Kempe Gowda International Airport.
During her maiden visit to Bengaluru, May met chief minister Siddaramaiah, visited aerospace parts manufacturing facilities in Peenya and participated in a programme with students of a government school in Yelahanka.
