Air-conditioned coaches and more buses added for KSRTC’s ‘Dasara darshana’ package

Corporation also introduces Mangaluru-Udupi package and Udupi temple tour package

With buoyant response to its ‘Dasara Darshana’ temple tour package, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation’s Mangaluru Division has not only added four air-conditioned coaches to the service, but also introduced a similar package for Udupi.

The corporation, responding to the huge demand, also introduced two buses for the package tour from Thokkottu, south of Mangaluru, while other buses start from its Bejai terminal.

On the first day of the introduction of the package tour on September 26 itself, all the three buses (midi-coaches) operated to their full capacity and the corporation increased their numbers to eight.

From Friday, it introduced three Volvo coaches too to cater to the demand with a fare of ₹400, as against ₹300 on ordinary services.

All these services start from Bejai with the first temple of the tour being the Mangaladevi. From Thokkottu, the KSRTC began operating two Karnataka Sarige coaches on popular demand from Saturday. Mangaladevi is the first temple of visit for these buses too.

Among the temples in Mangaluru taluk that passengers are being taken include Mangaladevi, Bolara Halekote Mariyamma, Polali Rajarajeshwari, Sunkadakatte Ambika Annapoorneshwari, Kateel Durgaparameshwari, Bappanadu Durgaparameshwari, Sasihiltlu Bhagawati and the adjoining beach, Chitrapura Durgaparameshwari, Urwa Marigudi, and Kudrli Gokarnanatha.

Realising there was a similar demand in Udupi, the corporation deployed four midi-coaches for the temple tour package in and around the city from Thursday with two buses, and increased the numbers to five on Saturday.