Border dispute: MSRTC partially suspends bus services to Karnataka
Mumbai, Dec 7: Amid the simmering border row, Maharashtra's state-run bus operator on Wednesday said it has suspended 382 bus services to Karnataka, of the total 1,156 services operated by it daily to the neighbouring state.
The decision of partial suspension of bus services to Karnataka was taken following the instructions from the local police and the district administration, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) said in a statement.
The MSRTC buses departing from various places in Maharashtra go to Karnataka via Nanded, Osmanabad, Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts.
Of these, 312 out of the 572 services operated from Kolhapur via Nipani-Belagavi have been suspended on the instructions of local police and the district administration, it said.
The buses to Gadhinglaj, Chandgad, Aajra (all in Kolhapur district), Konkan and Goa from Kolhapur have been diverted via alternate routes instead of Nipani town in Kolhapur, the statement said.
Apart from this, 22 of the 60 services to Karnataka from Sangli district have been suspended due to the instruction from local administration, it said, adding that another 48 services on sensitive routes from other divisions have been suspended.
The 145 buses that went to Saundatti shrine in Karnataka carrying around 7,000 devotees from Kolhapur are expected to reach by midnight. If necessary, Karnataka police have assured to give protection to these buses, the MSRTC said in the statement.
On the occasion of 'Datta Jayanti', the birth anniversary of Hindu deity Lord Dattatreya, a fair has been organised at Ganagapur in Karnataka, for which additional buses are being run on Solapur-Akkalkot-Ganagapur route as many devotees from Maharashtra take part in the fair. However, the service is operated without any trouble.
The MSRTC is one of the biggest state-owned public transport undertakings in the country with a fleet of over 16,000 buses. The loss-making corporation used to ferry over 60 lakh passengers daily before the outbreak of the pandemic.
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Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Saudi Pro League goal
Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.
The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.
The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.
“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.
“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
