Schoolchildren from Pudupeerkadavu and Patramangalam villages near Bhavani Sagar Forest Range, along with their parents, blocked the Bannari - Bhavani Sagar main road on Wednesday demanding bus service to their village.

Over 150 families reside in Pudupeerkadavu and Patramangalam. In the absence of bus service in the morning to the villages, students have to walk three km through forest area to reach Pudupeerkadavu Junction and from there board bus to the Government High School at Thottampalayam.

Only a few parents have two-wheelers to drop their children at the bus stop, while others have to walk. “Bus service is available only during evening hours”, the students said.

On Wednesday morning, they staged a sit-in along with their parents and other villagers. They said that 37 students depend on the bus service and they had earlier submitted petitions to the officials at Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Limited (TNSTC), Nambiyur branch, demanding operation of bus during morning hours.

Police officials held talks with the TNSTC officials who promised to take steps to operate a bus in the morning hours. The protest was withdrawn at 9 a.m.