Bus services between Karnataka, Maharashtra resume after four days

BELAGAVI: After days of tension over the language dispute, bus services between Karnataka and Maharashtra resumed on Thursday. The services had been suspended since February 23 after a NWKRTC bus conductor was badly thrashed for not speaking Marathi in Belagavi.

Following the assault, buses belonging to Karnataka were blackened in Pune and Kolhapur by Shiv Sena (UBT) activists and drivers harassed. In a tit-for-tat act, a few Maharashtra buses were also blackened in Karnataka and the crew made to raise ‘Jai Karnataka’ slogans.

With the disruption in bus services, those travelling between the two states were put to hardship while the transport corporations also suffered huge revenue losses. Belagavi Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Roshan held a video conference with the Kolhapur counterpart and it was decided to resume bus services while ensuring safety of the bus crew.

Following the video conference, buses from Karnataka are plying to Kolhapur, Pune, Mumbai, Shirdi, Nasik and Inchalakaranji in the neighbouring state while Maharashtra state transport corporation buses are running from Kolhapur up to Sankeshwar.