Border row: All 145 MSRTC buses carrying 7,000 devotees return to Kolhapur from annual fair in K'tak
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) on Thursday said all its 145 buses that carried around 7,000 pilgrims from the state to Saundatti in Karnataka for an annual fair at goddess Yellamma temple earlier this week, returned safely to Kolhapur with the devotees this morning amid a simmering border row between the two states.
These devotees had travelled to Saundatti in the buses on Monday to take part in the fair, an MSRTC official said.
Maharashtra and Karnataka are locked in a bitter boundary dispute with leaders from both the states currently trading barbs against each other. The border row spilled onto roads on Tuesday with stones being hurled at vehicles entering Karnataka from Maharashtra near a toll booth at Hirebaugwadi in Belagavi district. Similarly, at least four buses from Karnataka were defaced in Pune district allegedly by activists of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
In view of the situation, the MSRTC suspended from Tuesday afternoon 382 of its 1,156 services operated daily to Karnataka on instruction of local police and district administration.
Talking to PTI, an MSRTC spokesperson said, "All 145 ST buses with repair trucks and inspection teams carrying around 7,000 devotees safely reached Kolhapur from Karnataka early Thursday morning under the protection of the police from the neighbouring state."
A large number of devotees of goddess Yellamma from Kolhapur visit Saundatti fair for three days every year in December.
The MSRTC is one of the biggest public transport bodies in the county with a fleet of around 16,000 buses. More than 65 lakh passengers travel in the buses operated by it.
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Make polling hours 6am-7pm for May 7 LS polls, Karnataka BJP urges EC citing heatwave
Bengaluru, May 3: Citing the ongoing heatwave in the state, Karnataka BJP on Friday petitioned the Election Commission with a request to modify the polling hours to the 6am-7pm period in the 14 parliamentary constituencies in the state that goes to polls on May 7.
Polling is currently scheduled to be held in the second phase in the state in 14 segments in the northern districts between 7am to 6pm on May 7.
"It has become hard to come out and vote between hours 10.00 to 17.00 due to uncontrollable heat. The average heat in those parts (north Karnataka) covering 14 parliamentary constituencies are between 37 and 42 degree (Celsius). The mercury is rising at an alarming level and it would become hard for the electors to come out and vote," BJP's petition said.
The petition highlighted the alarming rise in temperatures, which are expected to go beyond 40 degree Celsius, and also stated that the number of voters over the age of 40 is high and that they are vulnerable to the heatwave.
"To keep up the good spirit of voting, necessary action should be taken," the BJP petition urged the Election Commission, saying, "In this background, it is requested to modify the time of voting in the 14 parliamentary constituencies from 06.00 to 19.00 hours on May 7".
Polling was held between 7 am and 6 pm during Karnataka's first phase of the Lok Sabha polls in 14 constituencies on April 26.
