Mysore: The vehicular movement on the busy Mysore-Bogadi road came to a standstill as hundreds of school and college students, supported by Bogadi villagers, staged a road blockade protest on Tuesday September 10.
The protest was held at Ring Road junction at Bogadi against the KSRTC for plying only a few buses during peak hours.
They also vented their ire against the apathetic attitude of some of the KSRTC bus drivers and conductors for not allowing student pass holders to board buses and for not stopping buses at the designated stops.
Claiming that thousands of students, office-goers, the working class and the general public travel daily from Bogadi to the city in KSRTC buses, the protesters alleged that the KSRTC was operating less number of buses on the route, which had resulted in overcrowding of the buses.
They also alleged that a large number of girl students from two hostels located nearby were facing a lot of inconvenience while boarding the buses.
They also stated that the bus drivers and conductors behave arrogantly by not allowing student bus pass holders to board, besides using abusive language against the students. Many representations made to KSRTC authorities to ply adequate buses on the route during peak hours have fallen on deaf ears.
The agitators demanded that more buses ply during peak hours (7 am to 10.30 am and 3 pm to 5.30 pm) to enable them to reach their destinations in time. They also urged to construct a bigger bus shelter at Bogadi to facilitate the commuters.
Protest causes Road block
Meanwhile, tension prevailed at the spot as the road blockade continued for nearly 2 hours, with vehicles lined up on either side of the road.
Efforts were made by the Saraswathipuram Police to persuade the protesters to give up their protests and clear the road blockade, however they were adamant and insisted immediate relief.
The attempts by KSRTC Divisional Traffic Officer Dundu Madaiah and Vijayanagar Depot Manager Marigowda to persuade them, too failed initially. However, after a long discussion, the KSRTC gave a written assurance on deploying more buses (6 from either side), following which the agitators withdrew their protest.
Saraswathipuram Police led by Inspector PV Venkatesh, SI Shivakumar and staff, accompanied by a CAR Police van, ensured that no untoward incidents took place.
The protest was led by Vidyarthi Horata Samithi of Bogadi in association with AIDYO, AIDSO, AIMSS and Bogadi villagers.
