Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) resumed its services to cities in Tamil Nadu on Thursday evening, after it had suspended trips following a bandh call by opposition parties in Tamil Nadu.
A KSRTC official said, “We had suspended the services from various parts to Tamil Nadu from Thursday morning. Around 5.15 pm, the situation was monitored and the police at Tamil Nadu border assured that the buses can ply, as the bandh had ended. They also assured that they have made heavy security deployment and will ensure that there were no untoward incidents.”
The opposition parties in Tamil Nadu had called for a bandh as the central government has failed to form the Cauvery Management Board. A total of 211 buses plying from 11 districts of Karnataka to various destinations in Tamil Nadu were cancelled from morning, resulting in a loss of Rs 26 lakh. “On a daily basis, we have around 250 buses plying in the morning and around 180 in the night. If there is even a slight tension, we immediately withdraw services as precautionary measures,” the officer added.
Mohan Vel, a fruit vendor, said, “I knew about the bandh, but as I had to go to Madurai for an urgent matter, I boarded a private bus from Madiwala, which was stopped at state border near Hosur. They told us to walk to the other side to board another bus for onward journey. But no buses plying in Tamil Nadu and I had to return to the city.”
He said many people alighted at the state border and walked over to the other side hoping to catch a bus, but they had to wait till evening. “Most of them returned to the city while few of them stayed back. This is the routine whenever there is a bandh in any of the two states. It affects the common man’s life and daily business.”
