Bengaluru :Hundreds of residents and office-goers today marched in a protest at a prominent IT corridor here in country’s tech capital against bad road conditions and traffic woes.
Whitefield, the IT corridor located on the eastern part of the city, today saw protests with demonstrators, mostly dressed in black, with placards in their hands, shouting slogans “Save Whitefield”, “No road, no tax”.
The protest march that began from seven different locations across Whitefield area, culminated at the International Tech Park.
“I don’t find this fit for living; I stay just seven kms from here, but it takes more than one-and-half hours to reach daily- both morning and evening. The condition is pathetic,” an IT professional said.
“I pay my taxes regularly, I want good roads. I don’t know where our tax money is going; BBMP (civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) seems to be in a deep slumber. It takes more than two hours for me to reach office and while going back home it is again worse,” a woman employee at a private firm said.
Like most parts of the city, Whitefield is notorious for its traffic jam, that got aggravated as the city witnessed incessant rains in the last couple of weeks.
Citizens complain that the number of potholes have substantially increased, leading to accidents, some fatal.
Many office goers had taken half-a-day off to take part in the protest while few had even applied for leave.
Children were also seen accompanying their parents to join the protest.
“My child has to commute to school every day, as the school bus gets stuck in traffic he is unable to reach school on time. In the evening it is much worse, he comes home late. Imagine kids getting stuck in traffic without any food…,” a local resident said.
“Save Whitefield”, a non-political and peaceful protest, was organised by like-minded citizens with an intention to send a message to government and civic authorities.
PTI