The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) and the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) operated additional buses in the border districts, including Raichur, on Tuesday.
However, since Raichur police and North Eastern Karnataka Road Transportation (NEKRTC) had advised the bus operators to stop their vehicles on the outskirts of the city and return from there, just to avoid any clashes agitating employees, APSRTC buses that were running between Raichur and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh stopped at Navodaya police check-post and TSRTC buses running between Raichur and Gadwal, as well as Mahabubnagar and Hyderabad in Telangana, stooped at Basavanabavi Chowk. Police forces were deployed in both the places to ensure peaceful operations.
Request made
“Upon the request by Karnataka, we are running eight additional buses between Kurnool and Raichur today. The number of buses and frequencies could be increased if the demand grows,” L.K. Reddy, Controller, APSRTC, told The Hindu . He was posted in Navodaya police check-post in Raichur to ensure smooth operations.
However, APSRTC and TSRTC had not resumed their bus operations to interior cities and towns in Karnataka on the second day of the strike.
“Considering the request by NEKRTC, we are playing some additional buses between our cities and some border towns such as Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Raichur. However, we have stopped our bus services to interior towns and cities of Karnataka such as Shivamogga,” Bheema Reddy, TSRTC Depot Manager, Hyderabad, told The Hindu over phone. The TSRTC that was playing three buses daily between Hyderabad and Kalaburagi and six buses between Hyderabad and Yadgir, added two more buses to Kalaburagi route and three buses to Yadgir route, he added.
Except these two routes that connected Raichur with some cities in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, rest of the towns had to be completely dependent on private operators, who continued to exploit commuters by overcharging on the second day as well.
“Passengers travelling between taluk headquarters as well as those travelling between district headquarters and taluk centres are facing some problems. Karnataka villages and towns along Raichur-Hyderabad and Raichur-Kurnool are using TSRTC and APSRTC buses that are operating on our request,” V.H. Santosh Kumar, Divisional Controller (Raichur), NEKRTC, said.
