Passengers bear brunt as Maha-Karnataka bus service remains affected
Following suspension of bus services between Maharashtra and Karnataka for the third day on Monday, passengers faced difficulty and were forced to use private mode of transport
PUNE As the interstate bus services between Maharashtra and Karnataka remained suspended for the third day on Monday, passengers travelling from Swargate station in the city faced difficulty and were forced to use private mode of transport.
Daily, from the Swargate ST stand seven buses ply to Karnataka, including two each to Bidar and Belagavi, and one each to Gulbarga, Vijayapura, Kalaburagi, and Gangapur. Similarly, six buses from Karnataka arrive at Swargate ST stand every day.
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) officials stated that the buses are now operating only up to Kolhapur and are being redirected back from there.
“I wanted to go to Gulbarga on Saturday and there was no direct bus of MSRTC or Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) from Swargate so I didn’t have a choice but to take a private tourist bus and shell out more money,” said Sonappa Jadhava, a commuter.
Santosh Kamble, owner of Siddharth Transport Services, said, “Currently, we playing two buses on Kolhapur and Belgaum routes. There was some disturbance on the routes since past two days but the buses are still running.”
“To prevent tension between the two states, the administration has decided to suspend MSRTC buses travelling from Maharashtra to Karnataka until further notice. The administration is assessing the law and order before the service resumes,” said Pramod Nehul, MSRTC Pune divisional controller.
The row stems from a dispute over language that took place in Belagavi on February 21 when a bus conductor, identified as Mahadevappa Mallappa Hukkeri (51), was allegedly assaulted for not speaking Marathi.
