Residents, farmers, traders, and students from the Government Primary School in Kottamadugu, a village around 10 km from Gudiyatham town in Vellore, staged a road roko and seized a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus on Friday demanding bus services to their village.
As a stop-gap measure, the existing bus service to Jittapalli village has been extended to Kottamadugu. When the bus reached Jittapalli village around 1 p.m., residents from Kottamdugu blocked Gudiyatham Main Road and seized the vehicle. They said they wanted the bus service to be extended to their village, which was around 3 km from Jittapalli, and also demanded buses to other places, such as Katpadi, Pernambut and Ambur.
A team of revenue officials, Gudiyatham taluk police and TNSTC officials, led by S. Jayanthi, branch manager, Gudiyatham Bus Depot, reached the spot and pacified the residents. Afterwards, the protesters dispersed after authorities assured them that steps would be taken to fulfil their demands. “We have been appealing to the Vellore Collector and the manager of the Gudiyatham Bus Depot but they only give lame excuses,” said S. Vasanthi, a resident.
