Team Herald
PANJIM: Friday’s Karnataka bandh not only affected technology outsourcing giants but Goa’s Kadamba Transport Corporation briefly shut down its interstate services to the neighbouring State. KTC, however, commenced services after 12 noon.
Speaking to Herald, KTC General Manager Sanjay Ghate said some of the routes in Karnataka were stopped on Thursday evening and some buses left early to reach their destinations by early morning.
He said that Bangalore, Mysore, Hubbali, Belgavi routes were completely stopped since Thursday but by Friday afternoon some services were restarted including to Belgavi and Hubbali.
Ghate said that buses plying to Hyderabad also left early on Thursday as they had to travel through Karnataka.
“We were more cautious about our buses because there is already a tussle and protest by Karnataka over the Mhadei water dispute,” Ghate said. He added that all buses were operational on all routes by evening.
Karnataka had called for a protest against a Supreme Court order that it release thousands of gallons of water from its reservoirs to neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Around 5,000 protesters took to the streets of Bangalore, some burning tyres and effigies of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The shutdown left hundreds of rail and air passengers stranded at railway stations and the airport, with no buses or taxis to take them to their final destinations.
