RTC suspends all services to Tamil Nadu

PMK activists burn APSRTC bus near Kanchipuram Tirupati : In protest against the arrest of their party chief Ramdoss, the activists of PMK (Pattali Makkal Katchi) burnt several buses throughout Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. In the afternoon a few activists pelted stones on APSRTC bus belonging to Puttur depot near Palluru in Kanchipuram before burning it to ashes. The activists did not give time to the passengers even to get down. Fortunately none of the passengers were injured.

Following this, the RTC Tirupati Region has suspended all its services to various places of Tamil Nadu after 3.30 pm. He instructed the drivers and conductors of APSRTC bus services to come back to Andhra limit by cutting off the journey and suggested them to take care about safety. No bus service left to Tamil Nadu after 3.30 pm and the resume of services would be decided only after the official information from Tamil Nadu government or RTC department, said A Nagasivudu, Regional Manager, APSRTC, Tirupati. Speaking to 'The Hans India', he said Puttur depot RTC bus (AP-03-Z-5076) left for Kanchipuram from Tirumala and while on return journey, the bus was burnt between Palluru and Govindavadi Agaram villages in Kanchipuram block. Neither the driver (PV Naidu) nor the conductor (A Anand) knew about the arrest of Ramdoss and protest by the PMK. The passengers were in a state of tension fearing that the activists might resort to violence. They poured petrol on the bus and burnt it doen, Nagasivudu said. "Every day, we operate about 250 services to various parts like Madurai, Combatore, Vellore, Kanchipuram, Chennai, and Tiruvannamalai from 13 depots of Chittoor district. Almost all services returned to AP limits and about twenty services were in TN limits." he said.