350 passengers miss flight

Bengaluru, Mar 4 (DHNS): Bengalureans had a harrowing time on Thursday as traffic came to a halt for hours in the northern and central areas after thousands of farmers from Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts stormed the City seeking a permanent irrigation project for the two parched districts.

The traffic jam on the airport road resulted in more than 350 passengers missing their flights. Motorists, schoolchildren, BMTC and KSRTC bus commuters, patients in ambulances and even pedestrians were inconvenienced as several roads were choked.

Protesters who had arrived in hundreds of tractors abandoned them at many places, mainly on the busy Ballari Road, and this led to traffic chaos. The police tried to stop the tractors from entering the City near Devanahalli and at Medahalli near KR Puram, but the protesters, who had planned to lay a siege to the Vidhana Soudha, ran their tractors and bikes over the barricades at Devanahalli and managed to reach Mekhri Circle.

Many farmers jumped barricades at other junctions also.
Towards noon, the farmers were stopped from going towards Vidhana Soudha and were told to park their tractors at the Palace Grounds.

The protesters then decided to picket Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s official residence. They abandoned their vehicles near Windsor Manor bridge, Mekhri Circle and Cauvery Junction and started marching towards Siddaramaiah’s official residence. The police tried to stop them near Windsor Manor bridge. When the farmers tried to jump the barricades, the police resorted to lathicharge. The protesters dispersed after a senior minister met them.

Meanwhile, another protest by sugarcane farmers at the Freedom Park aggravated the situation. Hundreds of commuters were stranded for hours in the scorching sun on the Hebbal flyover, Nandidurga Road, Sankey Tank road, Mekhri Circle, Race Course road, Kumarakrupa Road, Shivananda Circle, Golf Course Road, Palace Road, Sheshadri Road, Nrupathunga Road, Basaveshwara Circle, Sheshadripuram Link Road and Old Madras Rd.

Devi Prasad, an employee of a jewellery showroom near KR Market, said: “Around noon, I had been to a bank near Richmond Road and while returning, the entire area around Hudson Circle was blocked and vehicles were not moving an inch. It took me exactly two-and-a-half hours to reach my showroom. Most of the people were not aware of the protest. If we had known in advance, we could have made alternative plans.”

Thakur Sahab, a cab driver said: “I was stuck on Ballari Road for two hours and I lost my customer who was waiting at the airport. When police can make all sorts of arrangements to welcome a minister, why can’t they do it now?”

Out of gear

8 BMTC buses, 1 policevehicle damaged during protest.
4 policemen, 7 farmers injured in scuffle.
Police detain 11 farmer leaders.
Farmers came in 247 tractors, 35 four-wheelers, 150 bikes, 2 mini trucks.