Title - Bus and railway services disrupted

Train and bus services between Bangalore and Mysore took a hit on Wednesday too with agitating farmers blocking road and railway lines in the wake of Cauvery water sharing row.

Mysore-Bangalore train scheduled to leave Mysore at 11 am was cancelled as protesters blocked the tracks. The Mysore-Shirdi Express was stopped in the morning near Gejjalagere of Mandya district by over 250 farmers.
Officegoers were delayed for their work. Even other regular trains between Bangalore and Mysore, including Cauvery Express, Chamundi Express were also stopped for hours together.

“All the trains between Bangalore and Mysore were packed as commuters found it a better mode of transport since roads were blocked,” said a senior official from the South Western Railway.

Movement of buses was also affected with protesters blocking the Bangalore-Mysore highway since morning. Vehicles were stranded for hours at Gejjalagere near Mandya. “We could operate only 20 per cent of buses from Bangalore to Mysore, Mandya and to a few places in Kodagu.

Since the highway was blocked at Mandya, we had to divert the buses through Kanakapura, Malavalli and Bannur to reach Mysore. By evening, protesters blocked the route at Bannur and few buses were diverted through Kirivagalu to reach Mysore,” said a senior official from KSRTC.

Another official said, KSRTC’s Mandya depot suffered a loss of Rs 30 lakh as no buses plied. 

“Since there were very few private buses plying, commuters had a hard time through the day.

However, after 6 pm the bus services resumed with protesters vacating the highway,” he said.

Expressing solidarity with the protesting farmers, the Bangalore Tourist Taxi Owners’ Association and Maxi Cab wners’ Association have decided to stage a day’s token strike on Thursday. “Taxi, maxi cab owners along with drivers will participate in the protest. However, there will be no disruption of taxi operations,” said Radhakrishna Holla, head of the Association.