Private bus operators have decided to stop their services to and from Chennai till Wednesday evening as large number of passengers have cancelled their tickets and also as a precautionary measure, said an office-bearer of All Omni Bus Operators Association.

"About 75-85 per cent of the passengers decided to cancel their tickets on Wednesday. As a result, the bus operators have decided to cancel the services to and from Chennai till 6 p.m tomorrow (Thursday)," A. Anbalagan, general secretary, All Omni Bus Operators Association told IANS.

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam paid their last respects to DMK President M. Karunanidhi here on Wednesday.

People from different walks of life -- leaders, actors, industrialists and others -- also paid homage to their departed leader, whose mortal remains have been kept at the Rajaji Hall.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan clarified that as earlier, the BPL card holders would be given 7 kg rice under the Anna Bhagya scheme.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that rapes in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh shelter homes are "sad and shameful" and assured that steps would be taken to prevent recurrence of such acts and that no culprit would escape action.

The AIADMK government circumvented the rule against construction of memorials along the beach by burying J Jayalalithaa in an existing memorial for her mentor MG Ramachandran.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday expressed grief over the death of DMK leader M. Karunanidhi and said like former Chief Minister Jayalalitha, Kalaignar was an expression of the voice of the Tamil people and deserves to be given space on Marina Beach.

Leaders of the state including former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and others condoled the death of former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, M Karunanidhi.

Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and other leaders from the state on Tuesday paid homage to DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi, who earlier passed away in Chennai.