Seven buses were damaged by miscreants in the suburbs on Monday taking the total number of vehicles damaged in Madurai to 24. The buses were damaged as a fallout of violence witnessed during guru puja of Immanuel Sekaran at Paramakudi in Ramanathapuram district on Sunday.
Seventeen buses were stoned on Sunday as a sequel to the riots witnessed in Paramakudi where five persons were killed in police firing.
According to Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) officials here, the daily collection from the buses also dipped from Rs. 1.15 crore to Rs. 98 lakh on Sunday. The damage to the windowpanes of buses was put at Rs 1.50 lakh. Since the damaged buses cannot be operated and would remain idle, it also would bring down the revenue.
Madurai Rural Police said that the buses were damaged in Chintamani, Avaniapuram, Puliangulam, Ring Road among other places on Monday.
Night services to the suburbs were terminated on Monday evening itself as a precautionary measure. Normally, last trip buses from Periyar bus stand are terminated at the destination points at night and return from there in the early morning. This schedule was cancelled following police advice, a TNSTC official said and added that bus services towards Anuppanadi and Fatima College were not operated to the full strength.
