MK death: state vehicles bound for TN being turned back

The death of former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi hit passengers hard on Tuesday evening, with officials turning back vehicles from Attibele toll plaza as part of precautionary measures, even as about 160 state-run buses were cancelled.

Authorities at the Attibele Toll Plaza, situated on the main link to the neighbouring state, said they were taking all precaution to ensure safety of passengers. The officials said the KSRTC buses that have entered Tamil Nadu during the day will be parked there till they get clearance. “We are not allowing vehicles with Karnataka registration numbers as a precautionary measure. Such vehicles are being sent back as of now. We have also placed reserve police at the plaza so that any eventuality can be handled efficiently,” a personnel at the plaza said.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) cancelled nearly 160 buses scheduled to ply on Tamil Nadu routes after 6.30 pm. “All the vehicles are night service schedules. We run a total of 432 buses of which only about 160 are affected. This includes about half of the 87 buses to Chennai,” a senior KSRTC official said.

K T Rajashekhar, president of Karnataka Bus Owners Association, said about 500 private buses bound for various places across the border have been affected. “Most of them have been cancelled now. We will assess the situation tomorrow before taking a decision. Each bus clocks a revenue of Rs 35,000 and stopping operations is not an option for us,” he said.

Hosur Road saw high congestion of traffic as even private cars and maxicabs travelling towards Tamil Nadu were turned back. The personnel at the toll plaza said many commuters started arguing with them and relented only after the police intervened. “Police have been deployed at the Tamil Nadu border as well. They are monitoring traffic on both sides,” he said.