The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Monday suspended its bus services from Bengaluru to Kerala destinations in the context of the tension prevailing in Karnataka over the Cauvery issue. The services from Kerala to Bangalore also were affected. Services of private buses between Bengaluru and Kerala cities fell into uncertainty.
The suspension of bus services put thousands of Keralites in Bengaluru, who had planned to visit the home State for the Onam festival which falls on Wednesday, into trouble. More than 2,000 Keralites had booked tickets from Bengaluru to Kerala destinations for Monday alone. The State Government informed that Keralites in Bengaluru were safe.
The KSRTC management decided that bus services between Bengaluru and Kerala destinations need not be resumed till restoration of normalcy in Bengaluru. As many as 48 KSRTC services from Bengaluru’s main bus stand to Kerala, including 29 daily services and 19 specials, had to be suspended on Monday.
Stating that the present situation in Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, was not conducive for operating bus services, Kerala Transports Minister AK Saseendran said that the matter of resumption of KSRTC services could be considered after some normalcy was restored in Bengaluru and other places in Karnataka.
State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that his Karnataka counterpart had assured that Keralites would face no problems in Bengaluru. “The CM said that arrangements could be made for the Keralites to reach home for Onam,” Pinarayi said. Saseendran held discussions with his Karnataka counterpart on Monday evening.
“It doesn’t seem to be good idea to operate bus services in the current situation. What is of prime importance to us is the safety of the passengers,” Saseendran told the media. The Karnataka Government promised to provide police security for Kerala buses up to the state’s border once the situation in Bengaluru and elsewhere came under control.
“I have only three days’ leave for Onam. I had arrived here in the morning but there are no buses for Kerala. Nobody knows anything about resumption of services. Now I will have to catch a train but trains are sure to be overcrowded,” Anil Kumar, an IT professional, said over the phone from Bengaluru’s Satellite Bus Stand.