Buses from Belagavi to Kolhapur, Satara stopped

KOLHAPUR: Buses from Karnataka's Belagavi central bus stand to Kolhapur and Satara districts have been stopped from plying due to the rising number of Covid cases in the two Maharashtra districts.
The decision has been taken by the Northwest Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation. The Karnataka government had already made RT-PCR negative reports for Maharashtra residents travelling to that state.In absence of an RT-PCR negative report, a visitor from Maharashtra must at least have taken the first dose of a Covid vaccine before travelling to Karnataka.
More than 200 buses come into Maharashtra from the Belagavi bus stand every day. The Karnataka and Maharashtra residents from the border areas, who frequently travel between the states, have been facing inconvenience due to the halting of the bus services.
Mushrif wants negative RT-PCR report mandatory for visitors from Konkan & Karnataka.
Maharashtra minister Hasan Mushrif has asked the Kolhapur authorities to set up checkpoints for screening of people coming into the state from Karnataka. He said an RT-PCR negative report is mandatory for such visitors.
"The number of Covid cases increases when there is free movement of people. We want to control that to bring the pandemic under control. An RT-PCR negative report should also be mandatory for passengers travelling from the Konkan districts like Ratnagiri to the Kolhapur district. Covid patients infected by new the Delta-plus variant have been reported in Ratnagiri. Many people from Ratnagiri come to Kolhapur for treatment. I have asked the authorities to be alert to avoid an outbreak of the new variant," said Mushrif.
Meanwhile, instances of rural roads connecting Maharashtra and Karnataka being blocked are being reported from the border villages of Kolhapur and Sangli districts. The residents claim the village administrations on the Karnataka side are blocking the roads by dumping rubble and bushes. However, the villagers from both sides face inconvenience as many have their farms and businesses on the other side and have to commute daily.