Congress padayatra: Expect traffic chaos on Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Expect traffic snarls and bumper to bumper movement of vehicles on the under construction 10-lane BengaluruMysuru National Highway for at least four days starting from February 27 following resumption of padayatra by Congress party from Ramanagar to Bengaluru demanding taking up of the construction of a balancing reservoir at Mekedatu in Kanakapura taluk on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border.

After walking four days from Sangama to Ramanagar between January 9 and 12, 2022, the padayatra was suspended following the sudden spike in Corona positive cases across the State. Upon the request from Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai and Health Minister Dr.K.Sudhakar, the Congress leaders had decided to halt the padayatra in Ramanagar and resume it once the Corona cases came down.

Now, with the slump in Corona cases, the Congress Party is resuming its padayatra from Ramanagar on Feb 27 which will be flagged off by the AICC General Secretary and InCharge of Karnataka Affairs Randeep Singh Surjewala in Ramanagar City. After covering 60 plus kms, the padayatra would reach Bengaluru on March 3 and a mammoth function has been organized.

In January, Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of Ramanagar had issued an advisory to the commuters asking them to avoid Bengaluru-Mysore National Highway in view of the padayatra. The Congress leaders have decided to walk around 15 km daily to complete the padayatra on March 3 as Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai would present the State Budget 2022-23 on March 4. The official communication from the district administration of Ramanagar is expected in a day or two.

Due to ongoing works on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Express Highway Corridor Project, the travel timing between these two cities has crossed four hours.