After a brief disruption of services on Saturday morning, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses resumed plying between Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, and Tiruvannamalai and major Andhra Pradesh towns, such as Chittoor and Tirupati, by the evening of the same day.
The disruption was due to the arrest of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu on alleged corruption charges. “We had to wait in the bus terminus at Vellore to board buses to Tirupati as many buses were stopped due to the arrest,” said K. Surendar Reddy, a pilgrim.
Many outstation students, farmers, and traders in Vellore and nearby districts bordering Andhra Pradesh had to hire autorickshaws and taxi cabs to reach Chittoor, Kuppam, and other towns after the TNSTC and private buses were halted at the border checkpost in Andhra Pradesh around 7 a.m. due to the arrest.
At present, TNSTC operates 30 round-the-clock buses between Tirupati and Vellore, Kallakuruchhi, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram, Chinna Salem, and Neyveli. Buses between Gudiyatham and Palamuru and Madanapalli towns in Andhra Pradesh are also operated. TNSTC Vellore zone operates over 30 buses, mostly to Tirupati and Kalahasti, every day.
In August, a similar disruption of bus services happened to these towns following a clash between members of the TDP and the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh.
