Farmers lathi charged on yet-to-be inaugurated Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway

BENGALURU: Police took to lathi charge to disperse agitating farmers of Hanakere and surrounding villages in Mandya on Monday after they staged a road blockade on Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway near Hanakere demanding an underpass for the convenience of the residents.

Owing to road blockade, vehicular movement came to a halt for about 2-hours resulting in traffic snarl on the yet to be inaugurated Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway. The Expressway is slated to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi shortly. The agitating residents termed the Expressway works as “unscientific.”

The residents led by leaders Madhuchandran, Prasanna Gowda and others staged a protest with bullock carts to block the vehicular movement. Initially, DySP Om Prakash appealed to the residents to withdraw their road blockade and make way for smooth traffic movement but his appeal went in vain as the residents wanted the DySP to speak to officials concerned and do the needful.

Later, an Engineer of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) displayed a letter to the agitating residents that works on the underpass construction had been submitted to officials concerned in December and expressed hopes of starting the underpass works soon.

Enraged residents tore the letter into pieces and police took Madhuchandran and Prasanna Gowda into their custody and resorted to lathi charge the agitators to make way for smooth traffic flow.

After lathi charge, the residents resumed their agitation on the service road. Taking the inconvenience caused to traffic movement, NHAI dashed off a letter to Mandya Superintendent of Police Yatish assuring that works on underpass near Hanakere would start in two-months. Later, the agitation was withdrawn and vehicular movement resumed on the Expressway.