The congregation of two lakh plus crowd at Palace Grounds on Sunday threw traffic out of gear and inconvenienced thousands of citizens, but the government seemed not to care one whit. Rallies that can and should be held on the outskirts of the city are being staged in the centre of the city and on the road. In the past six months, at least a dozen rallies and protests have crippled parts of the city.
In the last 15 days alone, four major programmes on Palace Road crippled traffic movement. Be it a VVIP marriage or a religious convention, it’s the common people who experience hardship. During the marriage function of former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa's granddaughter, vehicles were allowed to enter and exit the venue from the same gate, causing traffic jams in surrounding areas. “We cannot allow public rallies that are attended by large crowds to be held inside the city when the traffic movement is already hit by constructions and other problems. When the government itself supports the rallies, which the Chief Minister attends, who can stop the traffic police from defying orders,” asked professor M.N. Sreehari, a traffic expert.
Last year, in an affidavit filed by the city police commissioner, the government had assured the High Court that rallies with more than 15,000 people will not be allowed in the city. But on Sunday, more than two lakh people attended the convention at Palace Grounds. The state government itself violated the direction two years ago when it took out a protest march to oppose price hike by the central government. “Besides the High Court directive, one must realise that rallies and protests cripple traffic movement in the city. With schools having reopened one cannot afford to get delayed while commuting. The police must come up with strict rules to discourage large scale rallies being held in the centre of the city,” said a traffic expert.