Traffic back, parks abuzz as Bengaluru unlocks after 48 days

BENGALURU: After 48 days of lockdown forced by a raging second wave of the pandemic, Bengalureans stepped out on Monday morning and saw the familiar traffic bustle on roads and parks abuzz with morning walkers.
Vehicles piled up at traffic junctions and busy intersections across the heart of the city, with Smart City works under way eating into the carriageways.Though cabs and autorickshaws were allowed to ply, public transport, mainly BMTC and Metro, remained shut. Manufacturing units were allowed work with 50% of their staff, but private office and other businesses were closed.
In CBD areas of Silver Jubilee Park Road, JC Road, SP Road and BVK Iyengar Road, many traders thought things were back to normal and tried to open their doors only to be sent away by policemen. Shops selling essential items, liquor shops and construction material benefited from extended business hours between 6am and 2pm. Opticians, too, reopened their shops, but the business remained bleak. Bengalureans hit the walking tracks in neighbourhood parks. Lalbagh and Cubbon Park were filled with walkers who stepped out in full gear and strength for their morning routine.
As the day wore on, it became clear that relaxations announced by the state were nothing much to cheer about. Venugopal, an employee of a private firm in Nagawara, didn’t know that BMTC was not operating and waited for a bus at Byappanahalli. “I don’t have a two-wheeler, but I am carrying a helmet in the hope that someone will give me a lift. So far, no one has stopped.”