BENGALURU: Kuppuswamy, in his late 50s, opens his laundry everyday at 9 am, and parks his two-wheeler on 8th Cross, Malleswaram before doing so. But Friday morning presented a shocking scenario which forced him to park his two-wheeler almost a kilometre away and walk till his laundry shop.
Most of the roads of Malleswaram 8th Cross, including the main roads and crossroads, were filled with vehicles on either side on Friday. Residents off these roads had a horrible Friday morning, thanks to the auditions. They were almost under house arrest on some stretches, with all kinds of vehicles blocking the exit.
“There was no vehicle parked in the morning after I returned from walk at 7.30 am. But after breakfast when I wanted to go out to the market, I could not take my two-wheeler out from the gate. Two-wheelers and cars were parked in front of my house erratically,’’ Srinivasan, a retired bank employee said.
More than 25 policemen were deputed to control the crowds.
Mahesh (name changed), who drives BMTC bus between Majestic and Yeshwantpur too had a horrible time. “On the Canara Union Road of Malleswaram, there were people standing in queues, narrowing the space for vehicles to pass. This was not suitable for BMTC buses. People were occupying the road. If something happened, someone got injured or run over, we would have been blamed,’’ he said.
At some places, residents were seen arguing with people parking their two-wheelers in front of their houses. “This is not a no-parking zone; it is a public road. Just because it is in front of somebody’s house, they cannot restrict us from parking,’’ Prakash, who had come to the audition, said.
The police — law & order as well as traffic — deployed there were a helpless lot having to manage such a huge crowd and the number of vehicles.