BANGALORE: A series of holidays beginning Saturday brought traffic in the city to a halt on Friday evening. All major roads leading to the Kempe Gowda Bus Station (KBS), the traffic nerve of the city, witnessed heavy traffic jam for hours.

This was because of scores of people who wanted to leave the city for their holiday destinations suddenly hitting the roads.

Second Saturday is a government holiday and employees who take leave on Monday will have four days holiday in a row. Taking this an appropriate occasion to escape from the monotony of city life, Bangaloreans are going out in large numbers to tourist destinations as well as to their native places.

Hours of traffic jams were experienced at almost all the major road-intersections and key arterial roads. The problem was more pronounced in and around the central area.

400 buses to clear rush

The government and private transporters who operated extra services to clear the rush also contributed to the traffic hold-ups.

KSRTC has deployed over 400 extra buses in view of the extra rush of passengers. As there was no advance booking for these extra buses, people in large numbers went to KBS to "take a chance."

Officials of the corporation told The Hindu that the flow of passengers was "tremendous." Till late midnight, services were being operated from the city. Director (Security and Vigilance) Bhaskar Rao said the corporation had sought extra buses from many parts of the State to meet the situation.

Those who left offices late on Friday were caught in the jams. People leaving the city said traffic jams spoiled their holiday mood.

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