Maharashtra-Karnataka bus services remain suspended for second day; thousands of commuters impacted

Maharashtra-Karnataka bus services remain suspended for second day; thousands of commuters impacted

The indefinite suspension of inter-state government bus services between Karnataka and Maharashtra continued for the second day on Sunday. The suspension of the bus services comes as protests continue over the ongoing dispute over language in the border district of Belagavi.

Over the language issue, a Karnataka state transport (NWKRTC) conductor was allegedly beaten up in Balenkundri village of Belagavi district on Friday by a group of Marathi-speaking people. According to reports, the conductor was assaulted after he asked a couple of passengers to speak in Kannada to buy tickets. The conductor is facing a case under the POCSO act as the ticket tiff involved a minor girl.

In retaliation, the members of a Kannada outfit blackened the face of a Maharashtra bus driver in Chitradurga, central Karnataka, on Saturday. In a tit-for-tat move, Shiv Sena activists applied black ink on a Karnataka bus in Pune and fastened saffron flags on another Karnataka bus in Kolhapur on Saturday.

Pratap Sarnaik, transport minister of NDA-governed Maharashtra, declared that in view of the safety of the drivers and conductors, all Karnataka-bound MSRTC buses would remain off the roads for an uncertain period.

Sarnaik has also asked Karnataka government to clarify why MSRTC workers were attacked and discuss the issues.

"Right now, it is difficult to say when we will restart the operations. At present, there is a lot of aggression on both sides," Nitin Maind, general manager (traffic) of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) said to TOI.

Meanwhile, the linguistic groups on both sides -- Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti and Karnataka Rakshana Vedike -- have accused each other of giving a language colour to the controversy.

The suspension of government bus services has hit thousands of commuters from both states who travel across the border for business and work. Now, Maharashtra-bound KSRTC buses ply till the state border, and passengers hail private vehicles for their onward journey or catch Karnataka-bound MSRTC buses, which stop just a few feet from the border. Most interstate commuters from Belagavi head to Sangli, Kolhapur, and Miraj -- and some as far as Pune and Mumbai -- on work.

Thousands of commuters from both states who cross the border for work and business have been impacted by the suspension of government bus services. Currently, KSRTC buses headed for Maharashtra run all the way to the state border. From there, travellers can take private vehicles for their next destination or board MSRTC buses headed for Karnataka, which halt a short distance from the border.