Karnataka suspends bus services to Maharashtra amid border tensions

Belagavi (Karnataka) [India], December 7 : Amid the tension over the border dispute between the two states, the Karnataka government bus services to Maharashtra have been temporarily suspended, said transport officials on Wednesday.
Belagavi Divisional Traffic Officer of the North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation KK Lamani said, "The government bus services to Maharashtra have been temporarily suspended on the instructions of Karnataka Police."
"More than 460 buses scheduled to depart from the Chikkodi-Belagavi section have been temporarily suspended, and the buses are operational only up to the Karnataka border," he added.
In the wake of the protest and escalating tensions, the people from local outfits in Solapur, on Wednesday, spray black paint on the Karnataka buses and CM Bommai's photo amid continuing protests over the border issue between the two states.
Earlier in November 2022, leaders and workers of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) inscribed the message 'Jai Maharashtra' on state buses in Karnataka.
Notably on Wednesday, the Maharashtra state road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) also suspended its bus services to Karnataka in the wake of an alert from the Maharashtra police.
The State Transport Department confirmed that this has been done after a security alert from the police department that buses might be targeted and attacked inside Karnataka during the agitations related to the ongoing Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai and his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde also discussed the issue over a call on Tuesday and agreed that both states should maintain peace, law and order.
"Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Eknath Shinde had a telephonic discussion with me, we both agreed that there should be peace and law and order to be maintained in both the states," tweeted Bommai.
The Karnataka CM stressed the harmonious relationship between the people of both states, saying that the border issue will be resolved legally in the Supreme Court.
The border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka goes back to the implementation of the State Reorganization Act, of 1956. The then Maharashtra government had demanded the readjustment of its border with Karnataka.
Following this, a four-member committee was formed by both states. The Maharashtra government had expressed willingness to transfer predominantly 260 predominantly Kannada-speaking villages, but Karnataka turned down the proposal.
Now, both Karnataka and Maharashtra governments have approached the Supreme Court to expedite the matter, and the matter is still pending.