Bengaluru: Farmers' protest brings city life to a halt

BENGALURU: North, northeast and central areas of Bengaluru witnessed one of their worst traffic nightmares on Thursday as thousands of farmers from the neighbouring Kolar and Chikkaballapur entered the city on their tractors demanding a permanent solution to water crisis in their region.

Unable to control the surging stream of agitated farmers, who were in no mood to listen , police resorted to a mild lathicharge near the Cauvery junction.

The city traffic police were active through the day by tweeting updates on the traffic situation and giving information about the roads to avoid.

The farmers entered the city in the afternoon through the Hebbal flyover riding their tractors and bikes rendering the police helpless. They crossed the CBI signal and whey they reached the Mekhri Circle, they encountered police barricades erected to stop their further progress into the city.

The police asked them to park their vehicles in the Palace Grounds and move towards Freedom Park.

But the farmers ignored the police orders and went ahead with their tractors. Some of them lifted and threw away the barricades.

Hundreds of policemen at the Cauvery Junction also tried to stop the agitated farmers but were in vain.

Police resorted to a lathicharge to disperse the crowds and detained farmer leaders Kodihalli Chandrashekhar and R Anjaneya Reddy. Both represented the Shashwatha Neeravari Horata Samithi (A Committee for finding a permanent solution to the water crisis) and others who tried to break the barricades at the Cauvery Junction. Farmers abandoned their vehicles on the road after being caned.

Reddy said while his generation of farmers have no water for farming, the future generation will not have water even for drinking. The farmers, he said, would not leave the city until their de mands were met.

There was a huge traffic jam from the Hebbal flyover till the Basaveshwara Circle and the parallel roads. Traffic was also disrupted at Hoskote and KR Puram.

Additional commissioner of police (traffic) MA Saleem told ET that the police department had issued a circular, banned tractors and trucks from entering the city but farmers had taken other roads.