COIMBATORE: Interstate bus services from Coimbatore to Kerala have been suspended on Thursday due to a nationwide strike by trade unions against the new labour laws.

Passengers faced hardships as buses operated by both the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation and the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation were suspended from the Ukkadam and Gandhipuram bus termini.

As Kerala State Road Transport Corporation buses bound for Coimbatore from Kerala were stopped from midnight, the bus bay in Ukkadam looked empty. Some buses from Coimbatore were operated only up to the Walayar check post on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala interstate border.

Due to the suspension of bus services, many had to rely on trains to reach their destinations in the neighbouring state. Trains running between Coimbatore and Kerala witnessed heavy crowds. Meanwhile, hundreds of members of various trade unions staged protests in different parts of Coimbatore and across Western districts.