Bus services between Karnataka and Maharashtra have come to a standstill after tensions flared up on Friday. A bus conductor was beaten up in Belagavi for allegedly not responding in Marathi. In a retaliatory move, some unidentified individuals attacked and blackened a bus driver of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) in Chitradurga district of Karnataka. The attacks have led to the suspension of bus services between the two states. Both transport corporations have restricted their operations, citing safety concerns for passengers and staff.Belagavi, a district with a substantial Marathi-speaking population, has been at the heart of a historic border dispute between the states. Maharashtra has repeatedly claimed the district and several other villages along the border, arguing that they were wrongly assigned to Karnataka in India’s landmark act to redraw state boundaries in 1956 and the formation of Maharashtra four years later. The Karnataka government has firmly opposed any such claims and has constructed the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, where the state legislature holds annual sessions.
