Tension at Belagavi border: Karnataka suspends bus services to Maharashtra

As the Karnataka Assembly’s winter session began at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi on Monday (October 8), the workers of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) and the Shiv Sena have started protests targeting state-run buses.

In Kolhapur, Shiv Sena workers forcibly stuck a “Jai Maharashtra” sticker on a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus. Following this incident, all bus services from Belagavi to Maharashtra were suspended from Monday afternoon as a precautionary measure.

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The district administration had rejected MES’s request to hold a “Mahamelaav” in Belagavi parallel to the Assembly session. Angered by this, Shiv Sena workers targeted Karnataka buses in Kolhapur, staging protests. They smeared ink on the buses, stuck stickers on them, and vented their fury.

With the possibility of Maharashtra leaders attempting to enter Belagavi, heavy police security has been deployed at the Koganolli check post in Nippani taluk. Police are maintaining a strict vigil to prevent any untoward incidents.

This decision was taken based on instructions from the police department. “Buses scheduled to travel from Belagavi to Kolhapur and other parts of Maharashtra are currently being operated only up to Nippani. They are returning from there,” officials said.

(This article was originally published in The Federal Karnataka)