Bengaluru: Traffic was thrown out of gear on Mysore Road on Monday morning after violence erupted when pro-Kannada activists ran amok hunting down Tamil Nadu registration vehicles, vandalizing them and setting them ablaze after the occupants including drivers escaped.
Though additional police forces along with Rapid Action Force (RAF) were deployed, the violence continued to spread with activists on bikes taking the law into their hands.
They were seen riding in the wrong direction on Mysore Road intimidating and threatening shopkeepers by hurling stones and forcing them to shut their shops. Though there were a few policemen at each junction, they were easily outnumbered by the activists.
Traffic movement from Kengeri to Town Hall was affected because of the violence that erupted at different intervals at several places including Kengeri, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Nayandahalli, Byatrayanapura, Mysore Road satellite bus stand and City Market. Traffic was also affected in Majestic area, Upparpet, Cottonpet, Ulsoor and on Hosur Road.
Traffic was not much affected in South, South East, and East police divisions with few incidents of violence. The most affected areas that witnessed traffic snarls were in West division and some parts of North division, a senior police officer said.
Cabs refuse, citizens help
Good Samaritans rose to the occasion and offered rides to people stuck without cabs, autorickshaws, metros and BMTC buses on Monday. Various posts on social media websites offered to pick up or drop people in need. A single post by a group sparked off a trend seeing various citizens pitching in to help all over the city.
As violence escalated and many offices shut by afternoon, tens of thousands of people were desperate to reach back home, but were stranded without any modes of transport. Many tried to use app-based cab services, but drivers, fearing attacks, refused to ferry passengers.
“My friend and I needed to travel from Koramangla to JP Nagar 7th phase. We tried booking an Ola, but the drivers would accept and later reject the ride. This happened about 5 to 6 times. Uber cabs were also not to be seen.
After an hour, an Ola Share agreed when we changed our destination to 6th Phase," said Karthik Lakshmikantha.
The violence also affected those heading to the airport. "When I heard about the disturbances, I called up Meru to check if my booking was still there but they cancelled it saying 'bandh like situation'," said Krishna Raj.
A Uber spokesperson said, "Uber has not issued any order to stop cab services. Cab drivers can do as they please. Because of the violence, they can reject the rides if they don't want to drive to certain areas."
