Banglore, January 18: The city ground to a halt, thanks to a flash protest by advocates at the busy State Bank of Mysore Circle on KG Road, throwing life out of gear in the heart of the metropolis for over eight hours on Tuesday, and causing misery and pain to thousands who were stuck in the resulting traffic gridlock that extended miles around the central business district.
S. Shekhar, a private company employee, was stranded in a bus at SBM Circle for over three hours. He was just two kilometres away from the railway station, where he was to board a train, but failed to catch it thanks to the traffic gridlock on K.G. Road.
“The lawyers’ demand may be genuine, but I missed my train. Did the lawyers take permission from the authorities before blocking the road? Because of their protest, thousands of people across the city were affected,” a frustrated Mr Shekar said.
The protesting lawyers rode roughshod over women, children, pedestrians and two-wheeler riders, who desperately wanted to pass through the rasta roko. Onlookers were stunned when a youngster, who raised his voice against the protest, was pushed around and beaten up mercilessly by a few from among the protesters who were supporting the protest but were not in the customary black blazers and white shirts of lawyers.
Rampaging advocates did not spare even journalists and their equipment. In the melee, an OB van of a news channel was damaged.
Worse still, an ambulance, that was ferrying a patient to Victoria Hospital and had its sirens blaring was stuck for over half-an-hour on KG Road. The road block on this arterial stretch of the city, caused traffic jams in and around the bustling Majestic area. City and intercity bus services were hit for several hours.
The elderly, the feeble, the disabled, and women, with children in tow, all got the same treatment from the lawyers, and were seen walking long distances to reach the Majestic bus terminus or the railway station.
An elderly Mr Venkatesh Prasad, seventy years old, had to walk from Hudson Circle to the Majestic bus stand — a good 2 km stretch — to catch a bus home in Basaveshwarnagar. “I had gone to the Century Club, and my friend dropped me off at Hudson Circle. From there, it was quite a journey on foot as Nrupathunga Road was completely jammed.”
Chennai-based businessman Safesh, who had come to the city on urgent work, says he will carry back bitter memories, thanks to the protest by those who should have known the law better.
“I was stuck in the traffic jam for over an hour. I was going to the railway station in an autorickshaw when I got caught in the protest. I missed my train back to Chennai.” While the law and order police failed to contain the situation, the traffic police had a tough time in diverting the traffic.
Several buses, both city and intercity services, were diverted to different terminals, while all vehicles were allowed to pass through the lung space of the city, Cubbon Park.
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The advocates’ protest which brought a major part of the city to a standstill, goes to prove how insensitive people who are meant to fight for justice, are to the common man’s needs.
If the advocates really wanted to protest, they could have called a press conference and spoken to the media on the outskirts of the city. But the common man had to bear the brunt of their protest. Stuck in traffic for over three-and-a- half hours translates into major losses for people when time is money these days.
The advocates could have dealt with the problem in the courts too. Bringing their issues onto the roads, and making the layman suffer was unnecessary. The courts should ban any protest in at least a 15 km radius from areas that are most travelled on.
The movement of traffic should not be compromised. The police seemed completely helpless in the chaos. People should have been informed in advance through radio stations, so that they could have avoided coming to the area.
The ongoing construction work has already thrown traffic out of gear and a protest like this only makes it worse. While people of the city are known to take things in their stride, this time it seems they’ve been pushed too far.
–Source: facenfacts