With no buses, devotees hire pickup trucks from Hornad to Mudigere

CHIKKAMAGALURU: With no government buses for hours, some devotees who had arrived at Hornad were forced to hire pickup truck to be dropped off at Mudigere.

About 80 devotees, including women, who had come from other districts, waited for a bus from evening till night on Friday. When there was no sign of any bus coming, they were forced to hire pickup trucks at higher cost and travel up to Mudigere.

Locals say that the movement of buses has dropped ever since the introduction of the Shakti free travel scheme for women. As a result, devotees coming from Davanagere, Chitradurga, Hassan, Tumakuru, Kadur are finding it difficult to travel.