JOIN USCommuters had a tough time reaching the Kempegowda International Airport ( KIA) on Saturday as BMTC buses and a majority of cabs remained off the roads following the bandh called over the Mahadayi water dispute.
Rajesh Devreddy, a resident of HSR Layout who had to catch a flight to Chennai said he had a hard time reaching the airport as a few private taxis were hesitant to ply fearing attacks by pro-Kannada groups. He said: “It usually takes five minutes to book a private cab. However, on Saturday, it took me 20 minutes to get a vehicle after much persuasion of the management of a cab service. Luckily, I reached on time.”
At Hebbal, close to Esteem Mall, members of a few Kannada groups riding two-wheelers blocked other vehicles, putting those heading towards the airport to hardship.
Keval J, a techie from Koramanagala who landed in the city from his hometown, New Delhi, said he was unaware of the bandh. “There is a private cab service available at the airport but there is a huge rush. I would have postponed my schedule had I known about today’s bandh,” he said.
A staffer from the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation ( KSTDC), Manjunath K N said there was a 25% drop in airport taxi services. Usually, from morning till noon, about 2,000 airport taxis ply. On Friday, only about 1,000 to 1,500 cabs operated by noon, he said.
There were heated arguments between commuters and taxi drivers, specially those going towards places like Malleswaram, Nagawara, Marathahalli and KR Puram, according to a private taxi operator due to the increased demand and shortage of taxi services. Karnataka Rakshana Vedike ( KRV) activists stormed KIA around 4 am on Saturday but they were detained by the police.