BENGALURU: Traffic on the busy Ballari Road and Jayamahal Road was severely hit as thousands of vehicles carrying people for the valedictory event of the BJP’s Parivartana Rally at Palace Grounds lined up on Sunday. Commuters and a few patients stuck in ambulances had a tough time getting out of the choked roads.
Meanwhile, bars on Ballari Road around Palace Guttahalli, RT Nagar and Munireddypalya made brisk business, as those who attended the convention made a beeline to the watering holes. Some elderly women who had come from Gauribidanur, Chikkballapur and Shidlaghtta fainted at CBI Junction as they did not get lunch. Some bikers gave them water. One elderly woman went missing at Mekhri Circle due to overcrowding and she was reunited with the group only by evening. Traffic police helped the group members find her.
Channarayappa, a resident of Hebbal said, “I walked till Shivananda Circle from Hebbal due to a traffic jam. I was going to receive my relatives who had come to the city from Chitradurga.”
Ravikanth DB, a resident of Yelahanka said, “I reached the venue at 11.30am. Since I did not get drinking water, I came to Guttahalli along with seven others and we drank beer in a bar and had food. We were offered R300 each to come to the convention”. BMTC bus service was also affected as many vehicles were hired to bring in people to the venue and Kempegowda bus station looked deserted till evening.
Girinagar residents waited for more than an hour to get buses and no vehicle was heading towards Ballari Road due to heavy traffic.As drivers of private vehicles had parked the buses on the main road around Mekhri Circle, many people who came from Yelahanka, Doddaballapur, Vidyaranyapura and Sanjaynagar walked about 6 km to reach Majestic after getting down. Many of them were seen carrying luggage and kids.
Ambulance stuck in traffic for two hours
An ambulance belonging to Ramakrishna Hospital was stuck in traffic for about two hours as it was heading to a private hospital at Trinity Circle from Baptist Hospital. The patient was referred for medical emergency, and the hapless family members were crying inside the ambulance.