Metro Closures and Traffic Jams Strand Freedom Habba Crowds

Thousands of visitors attending the maiden Freedom Habba event at Vidhana Soudha were left stranded on Saturday evening after authorities closed multiple Metro stations between MG Road and Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Metro station until 10:05 pm, triggering severe traffic congestion across the Central Business District.

The disruptions began around 6 pm as large crowds headed toward Vidhana Soudha. Initially, only the Dr Ambedkar Metro station was announced as closed to the public. However, the restrictions were soon extended to all stations along the stretch up to Nadaprabhu Kempegowda station, leaving commuters without train services for several hours.

Families with children and elderly relatives faced major difficulties as security personnel turned them away from consecutive stations. Commuters who walked from Dr Ambedkar station to Cubbon Park and Sir M Visveshwaraya Metro stations found those gates shut as well. With auto-rickshaws and buses scarce, many visitors were forced to walk long distances across crowded streets to find operational transit options.

At the venue, police restricted access exclusively to individuals who had registered in advance and held QR codes. However, large numbers of unregistered visitors gathered at entry points and queued up regardless, while some registered visitors were also reportedly unable to enter. Many who were denied entry remained on nearby roads, worsening the pedestrian and vehicular congestion.

By 7 pm, footpaths and roads surrounding Vidhana Soudha were overflowing. Slow-moving traffic and gridlocks affected multiple stretches in the area, with police struggling to manage the crowds and vehicular flow. The junction at the HAL Corporate Office, Police Thimmaiah Circle toward Lok Bhavan, and vehicles heading along Infantry Road toward MG Road were among the worst affected by the congestion.