Mangaluru : Bus services between Mangaluru and Kasargod have resumed on Friday, bringing much relief to the daily commuters, especially students pursuing their studies in various colleges in Mangaluru.

A total of 28 KSRTC buses operate to Kasargod from Mangaluru division while 24 Kerala SRTC (Malabar buses) operate from Kasargod to Mangaluru, said Mangaluru.

However, the long-distance buses to Ernakulam and Kozhikode are yet to resume as the booking is yet to start.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra K V said that all the passengers should strictly adhere to Covid-19 guidelines while travelling on the bus. The police personnel deployed at check posts in border areas should ensure that passengers wear their masks properly. All the passengers who travel to Mangaluru for a shorter stay (less than two days) should be free of any symptoms and should produce an RT-PCR negative certificate not older than 72 hours.

The daily commuters should produce RT-PCR negative certificates once in seven days irrespective of their vaccination credentials. The KSRTC should arrange sanitisers at the bus stand and arrange thermal scanning of the passengers, said the DC.

Thousands of daily interstate commuters, including students, travel from border areas of Kerala to Dakshina Kannada district, particularly Mangaluru. Without the direct buses, they were forced to endure a lot of difficulties on a daily basis. Without direct buses, students from Kasargod, Hosangadi, Manjeshwara, and other areas in Kasargod had to travel in buses till Talapady on the Kerala-Karnataka border and alight at Talapady and board another bus for their journey towards Mangaluru and other parts of Dakshina Kannada.

In fact, the students were also travelling in passenger trains in the past. Without the Chervathur-Mangaluru train, the students were inconvenienced. The Chervathur-Mangaluru passenger train was reaching Mangaluru Central Station at 8.30 am and was much benefitting the students studying in various colleges and schools in Mangaluru.