Airfares soar as pvt buses stay off roads

Nearly all bus operators between Maharashtra and Karnataka, including private players, have halted their services fearing for the safety of passengers and staff.

- Ateeq Shaikh

MUMBAI: The services will not be resumed till tensions die down, bus operators told Hindustan Times.

"Almost all private bus operations between the two states have come to a halt over simmering tensions in the border areas of both states," said Murad Naik, vice chairman of the Mumbai Bus Malak Sangathana.

Belgavi and its neighbouring areas in north Karnataka have been the focal point of a decades-long territorial and linguistic dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra. Last week, tensions erupted afresh after a KSRTC bus conductor was allegedly assaulted in a Belagavi village.

KSRTC and its arms run at least 120 buses every day from Belgavi to different parts of Maharashtra while MSRTC runs another 250 daily services to the southern state.