Bengaluru, June 7 -- Amid growing public resentment over VVIP convoys bringing traffic to a standstill in Bengaluru, Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Sunday traded the privilege of a zero-traffic corridor for a ride on the Namma Metro.
The timing was not accidental. Days after reports that a man rushing his pregnant wife to a hospital was delayed because roads had been cleared for a Governor's convoy sparked outrage across the city, Shivakumar's choice of transport carried a message that extended well beyond the metro coach he boarded.
Bengaluru, a city where traffic congestion has attained the permanence of the weather, has long harboured a simmering frustration over VIP movements. For many residents, the sight of empty roads ...