Maharashtra-Karnataka border row: Thousands of policemen deployed along lines, buses stopped

Bengaluru, December 07: In the midst of the ongoing border issue, Karnataka and Maharashtra chief ministers spoke over the phone and agreed that peace and law and order should be maintained on both sides.

 

The border tension between the two states heated up on Tuesday, with vehicles from both sides being targeted. The border issue will be debated in the Supreme Court soon, while Karnataka will hold elections in April-May.

 

 

The inter-state border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka erupted dramatically on December 6, 2022, with attacks on six lorries arriving near the Belagavi district. Vedike activists pelted stones at the buses near Hirebagewadi, 24 kilometres from Belagavi. Shiv Sena (UBT) workers in Pune replied by defacing four Karnataka buses.

 

As a precaution, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation has suspended ST bus services to Karnataka. Over 1,000 police officers were stationed near the border by the Karnataka police. According to Sanjay Raut, episodes of violence between Maharashtra and Karnataka cannot occur without 'Delhi's support.'

 

Raut demanded that Belagavi be declared a Union Territory, saying that people are ready to travel to Belagavi under the leadership of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar.

 

Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, stated that they are striving towards development and that such an atmosphere between states is not acceptable, especially since the subject is before the Supreme Court. "If a state doesn’t listen, the issue will have to be taken to the Centre,” Fadnavis said.

 

Both states' chief ministers, Eknath Shinde and Basavaraj Bommai, chatted on the phone late at night about defusing the situation.

 

Bommai stated that he spoke with Shinde over the phone and that they both agreed that peace and law and order should be maintained in both states.