Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi
Udupi, Mar 22: Bus service between Udupi and Mangaluru has been suspended till March 31 in view of the rising number of coronavirus cases.
As Section 144 has been imposed in Dakshina Kannada district, inter-district and inter-state buses will not ply to Mangaluru and other parts of DK.
City buses in Udupi will also be suspended for a day on Monday March 23, as private bus operators have decided to observe 'Janata Curfew' for another day. Services were suspended on March 22 as well.
From Tuesday March 24, some of the city buses are expected to resume operations.
City bus owners' association president Kuyilady Suresh Nayak and city bus employees' union president Santosh Poojary said, "As you know, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a Janata Curfew on Sunday March 22 in a bid to contain coronavirus that has been spreading across the world, and in response, private city buses in Udupi suspended their operation for day. On March 23 too private buses will not ply on roads. We have instructed all owners and drivers of private city buses to follow the same."
Udupi to Mangaluru express buses will suspend their operations till March 31 as per government orders. Buses from Karkala and Kundapur will also be affected. The bus operators are likely to incur huge losses as a result, but with Mangaluru already reporting one positive coronavirus case and several others under observation, there appears to be no other way to contain the spread of the virus.