{"id":49830,"date":"2022-04-12T13:17:16","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T11:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/law-enforcement-defuses-tensions-on-r61-20220412\/"},"modified":"2025-03-20T22:05:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T20:05:44","slug":"law-enforcement-defuses-tensions-on-r61-20220412","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/law-enforcement-defuses-tensions-on-r61-20220412\/","title":{"rendered":"Law enforcement defuses tensions on R61"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Eastern Cape Department of Transport, with help of the police, have managed to defuse tensions that had led to the interruption of the flow of traffic on the R61 between eNgcobo and Cofimvaba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spokesperson for the Department of Transport, Unathi Binqose, said a group of people had blockaded the road, targeting long distance buses in particular, forcing them to turn back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLaw enforcement had since come in and restored order. They will keep high visibility in this volatile route as traffic continues to pick up ahead of the Easter Weekend,\u201d said Binqose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said the cause of the disruptions is unclear, but the suspicion is that it could be related to the well documented tensions between Taxi operators and buses that use the same route (R61) that had been targeted in the past.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Eastern Cape Department of Transport, with help of the police, have managed to defuse tensions that had led to the interruption of the flow of traffic on the 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