Modi roadshow causes inconvenience galore to all

Umar Sharieef & Soumya Raju | NT

Bengaluru: With the Karnataka assembly election not far off, political rallies to woo voters are turning out to be a big headache for city residents. The rally that PM Narendra Modi addressed in Bengaluru on Saturday led to the blockades of several roads, forcing people to make alternate arrangements.

A few of the apartments that fell on the roadshow map of Modi, received a statement from police officials asking residents not to step out till the rally passes. The announcement also instructed residents not to assemble on the terrace and balconies to view the rally but to gather at the designated place. From traffic jams to restrictions, the roadshow left residents frustrated and disheartened.

A resident says, "The entire rally was like I, me and myself." "No local BJP leaders were found, wonder why the CM didn't accompany him." Some commuters reported delays of upto several hours. Students, in particular, were heavily impacted by the roadshow. Many students who walked or took public transportation to their educational institutes had to endure long commutes and extreme discomfort.

For instance, a student from JP Nagar reported that the usual 5-minute walk to his institute took nearly 30 minutes, while another student from RBI Layout had to endure an hour-long bus ride due to the heavy traffic caused by the roadshow. Residents of Jayanagar said the BJP supporters who arrived en masse, allegedly parked their vehicles on the road and in front of their houses. “There were barricades and party flags on the road”, said Vishwa, a resident.

The city Police officials also blocked many other routes besides the ones chosen for the roadshow. Srinidhi from Sadhasivanagar told News Trail that it took him half an hour to walk past the road that he often takes. “I went out to buy households and saw the shops closed and roads blocked as an arrangement for the rally. It usually takes me ten to fifteen minutes to drive this way. However, it took me half an hour today as I had to take a different route."

Many people alleged that the blockades forced them to take different routes and the police officials didn’t allow them to park their vehicles in the designated parking lanes. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a resident of Sadhasivanagar said their plans to make arrangements for their house function got delayed over the rally.

Activists and residents fumed as the city saw the felling of tree branches ahead of the PM’s visit. Students and other office goers also complained that they had to walk four to five kilometers to get to the public transport facilities as cabs and autos were not available on time due to the roadblocks.

A Twitter user named Dr Jagadish Hiremath tweeted that there was an interruption of power supply at his hospital since Saturday morning and added that he was informed the interruption was due to the PM’s roadshow and it was the same in the entire area.

Modi is expected to cover seven kilometers in Bengaluru on Sunday as part of his roadshow. The situation was made worse by the scorching heat, with many people, including bikers and pedestrians, being stranded on the streets in the extreme heat.