Bengaluru: BMTC suffered revenue losses due to the violence since Monday afternoon. Though officials denied that schedules were cancelled, sources in the corporation said that tens of schedules were cancelled following violence in several parts of the city. BMTC cut its schedules in violence hit areas of Mysuru Road, Viajayanagar, Kengeri, Chandra Layout, Nice Road, Electronic City, Hoodi and Attibele routes following violence on Monday afternoon. “Other schedules were also brought down towards evening as most of the passengers left their workplaces early to avoid trouble. Passenger occupancy rate came down drastically in the evening,” said an officer. But Dr Ekroop Caur, MD, BMTC, denied cancellation of any schedules. “Officially, we did not cancel any schedules. But we did not operate in many places to avoid damage to our vehicles,” she said.
Age-old Hotel attacked in Chennai
A popular hotel on the busy Dr Radhakrishnan Salai in Chennai run by a Kannadiga family for generations, several vehicles bearing Karnataka registration plates in the temple town of Rameswaram and a branch of Karnataka Bank in Puducherry became the target of fringe Tamil outfits in what is seen as fallout of agitation in the neighbouring state against Tamils. Petrol bombs were hurled at the New Woodlands Hotel in Chennai at around 3.30 am by members of a fringe outfit who also left a note that warned of more attacks against establishments owned by Kannadigas if Tamils continued to be attacked in Karnataka. Sources said Chennai Police has taken 4 people into custody in connection with the attack on the hotel, while stones were pelted against a branch of Karnataka Bank in Anna Nagar. However, none was injured in the incident. Thanthai Periyar Dravida Kazhagam (TPDK) owned responsibility for the hotel attack while members of Naam Tamizhar Katchi and other little-known outfits picketed branches of Karnataka Bank in several parts of the state.
Trains to Tamil Nadu unaffected
All the train services between Bengaluru and various parts of Tamil Nadu continued unaffected on Monday, even though violence erupted in both states. An officer from the South Western Railways (SWR) said that all the trains between the two states ran as per schedule. “As there was no movement of buses, occupancy rate in all the trains was very high. We will operate all trains as per the schedule even on Tuesday,” he said.
