Will Burning 45 of My Buses Solve Cauvery Issue, Asks KPN Owner

45 buses owned by KPN Travels were torched in Bengaluru after violence over the Cauvery issue broke out.

On Monday evening, as chilling visuals of a blazing fire at a bus depot in Nayandahalli were shown on TV channels, the feeling first sank in that the protests over the Cauvery water issue were spiralling out of control.

Around 150 to 200 protesters set on fire around 45 buses at a depot owned by KPN Travels in Nayandahalli on the outskirts of the city.

KPN, one of the largest private bus operators in South India, came under attack as it is owned by a businessman from Salem in Tamil Nadu, KP Natarajan.

This is the first time that our buses have been targeted in such a way. Skirmishes over the Cauvery issue have occurred in both states in the past and sometimes buses have been attacked, but never at this scale.

KP Natarajan, Owner, KPN Travels 

KPN Travels, founded in 1972, operates buses in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Speaking over the phone from his house in Salem, Natarajan said:

I am a businessman. How will targeting my buses and business solve the Cauvery issue? We have nothing to do with it.

The buses, which included sleeper, semi-sleeper, AC and non-AC buses, were completely charred.

Natarajan says he is thankful none of his staff were critically injured.

The mob came prepared for arson. They attacked four or five drivers who were at the depot. They were taken to hospitals. All the buses were set on fire. We will approach the police today.

The businessman says his staff will approach the police and file a complaint.

We will file a complaint. But what’s done is done. The kind of fear that has been created is not good.

It was not just KPN; many establishments owned by Tamilians faced the ire of agitators in Bengaluru. One of the first attacks on an establishment in the city was on a mobile phone store on CMH road on Monday.

Later establishments like the Adyar Anand Bhavan and others owned by Tamilians were also targeted.

Chennai too witnessed similar attacks, but on a smaller scale. The New Woodlands Hotel and Karnataka Bank were vandalised by protesters on Monday.