Cauvery stir: Kerala stops bus service to Bengaluru

Thiruvananthapuram: Amidst the raging row over Cauvery water sharing between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and subsequent sporadic violence in Karnataka, Kerala on Monday decided to cancel temporarily the bus services from and to Bengaluru, causing concern to Malayalees who want to reach home to celebrate Onam on Wednesday.

Taking a serious note of the situation, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan spoke to his counterpart in Karnataka over a phone and took stock of the developments, official sources said.

Kerala Transport Minister AK Saseendran said in view of the serious situation prevailing in Karnataka, The Kerala government has decided to temporarily cancel the services of state-run Kerala Road Transport Corporation buses.

"The primary concern of the government is the safety of our passengers. We are aware that many Keralites in the neighbouring states want to reach their home state to celebrate Onam," he told PTI.

"We are keenly monitoring the developments in both the states and the moment there is any relaxation in the present tension, we will take steps to resume the service," he said.

He said: "There is a risk to continue service when the tension prevails."

"DGP Loknath Behera also spoke to his counterpart in Karnataka. They have assured necessary protection to our vehicles if there is any relaxation to the situation. But, the report which we are getting from Bengaluru is that agitators are asking to close down our bus counters there," he said.