The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Ticket seekers block road

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Thursday, Apr 10, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Ticket seekers block road

T.S. Ranganna

It has become a daily affair compounding road users’ grievances

Road users have, of late, been facing a different kind of blockade
Many Congress members are staging dharna after parking vehicles on Queen’s Road

— Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

CHAOS: The crowd and vehicles parked in front of the KPCC office on Queen’s Road caused a traffic jam in Bangalore on Wednesday.

BANGALORE: What was a bus doing parked bang in the middle of the busy Queen’s Road on Tuesday? A few enquiries later, it turned out that it was transporting senior Congress leaders, including Union Ministers, from the party office in the vicinity to a destination yet to be ascertained.

The problem, though, was that it is a “no parking” area and it threw traffic out of gear. In fact, this has been a regular occurrence of late.

The slow moving vehicles on Bellary Road, Jayamahal Road and Miller’s Road towards the western parts via Cantonment Railway Station are forced to grind to a halt on the already choked arterial road.

Due to the construction of the underpass at the Bangalore Development Authority junction on Bellary Road, the vehicles are first diverted at two points Mehkri Circle and BDA Circle.

The vehicles from these two points and those coming from Miller’s Road converge at the railway station road under-bridge and move towards Queen’s Road.

Road users and pedestrians on these stretches, who are already put to a lot of hardship especially during morning peak hours, have been facing a different kind of blockade, when they approach the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) headquarters on Queen’s Road.

Congress members seeking party ticket for contesting in the Assembly elections and their supporters and hangers-on from the 224 Assembly constituencies in the State are flocking to the KPCC office with their memorandums.

Many are also staging dharna and protest demonstrations demanding ticket after parking their vehicles on the road, leaving no space for the movement of traffic.

Strangely, no traffic constable was seen on Queen’s Road and some of them make an appearance only when Union Ministers such as Prithviraj Chavan or Vayalar Ravi or the former Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, who have been given police escort and security. The poor road users are left to fend for themselves.

It is a pity that the pedestrians, particularly the elderly and schoolchildren who have been using the wide footpaths of Queen’s Road from the Veterinary Hospital up to Balekundri Circle, are pushed to the road, as the entire footpath is occupied by the posh vehicles of the Congress members.

However, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-East) Seemanth Kumar Singh feigned ignorance of the illegal and haphazard parking of vehicles by the Congress workers. He said that strict action would be taken against those who block the road and footpaths.

Apologising to the people, KPCC president M. Mallikarjun Kharge said that he would instruct the party workers not to “harass” the road users. Mr. Kharge, however, said that this would continue for a few more days till party ticket were distributed to the candidates.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, a serious contender in the elections, however, seems to have done its homework. The party has shifted all its activities from the Malleswaram office to venues on the outskirts of the city, which many party workers have not been able to locate.

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