The 26-km south-to-west roadshow of Prime Minister Narendra Modi affected traffic in the city on Saturday (May 6) and earned some brickbats from the city’s residents. However, the BJP termed the criticisms an “opposition ploy” since they “are scared of Mr. Modi”.
Many office establishments work on Saturday, and employees had to endure hardship to reach their destinations, with traffic police blocking streets for the roadshow.
In many places, commuters were seen arguing with traffic policemen over roads being blocked for hours. At one of the junctions in Jayanagar, commuters took to honking continuously to protest roads being blocked. The roadshow was expected to conclude by 12:30 p.m. but went on till over 1:00 p.m. Many also objected to roads being blocked much before the Prime Minister arrived at the junction.
“I went to drop my son at the metro station, and is now stuck behind barricades. Let the Prime Minister hold rallies in National College Grounds or Freedom Park. Why do a roadshow, and inconvenience us?” asked Sampath Kumar, a resident of Hanumanth Nagar.
“Mr. Modi is visiting our streets, so they have blockaded all our apartments, all the shops are closed, no autos, no buses, no vehicles on the road ... just think of the financial losses,” tweeted Karthik Seshan. Many other services, like food delivery, was also disrupted due to the roadshow.
Roads deserted
Many areas of Bengaluru wore a deserted look on Saturday, as even the buses were few and far between in many parts of the city.
“I had an interview at the city centre today, and I left pretty early to catch a bus. But I waited for over an hour, and there was not even a single bus, and thus, I had to call the company and reschedule my interview for next week,” said Jagadish M., a resident of Ramagondanahalli.
As most roads in South and West Bengaluru were blocked, many took the metro on Saturday. While no additional trains were run, most metro trains were packed.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and Indian Youth Congress, Karnataka, tweeted a video of an ambulance stuck in a traffic jam near J.P. Nagar Metro Station.
Janata Dal (Secular) tweeted videos of irate commuters criticising the roadshow and said, “One who did not come to the State when they were in trouble has now come to show off during elections.”
Leader of opposition Siddaramaiah said in a tweet that he was trying to go to Gangavathi, but the police denied him permission.
