KSRTC should be proactive to Tackle pressure from Private Transport -Madhwaraj
Udupi: The district in-charge minister Pramod Madhwaraj said that KSRTC should be proactive to tackle pressure from the private transport.
Speaking at the first ever Sarige Adalat held on Wednesday, January 18, at the A B Vajpayee auditorium here, the minister said that henceforth private transport operators will not be allowed to establish a monopoly, as KSRTC would be an active player in the game. He added and said that, at least in the rural areas, the government has chalked out plans to introduce Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) buses. He also said that the students coming from the rural areas will be benefited by the government decision. As many as 47 proposals are put forth before the RTO for approval and submission before the RTA.
Reiterating that the safety of the school and college going students is the prime concern, the minister said that the KSRTC buses will be plying on the routes where there are insufficient buses which also include private buses.
Stating that there is no profit-making agenda, the minister assured that the public comfort is the core idea behind deploying the JNNURM buses. As many as 30 permits are issued and the timings would be fixed by the RTO shortly.
The public from the Maoist prone areas complained about the absence of the public transport in the region. Sadashiv Prabhu from Hebri said that there are very few private buses plying in Hebri, Nadsal and other Maoist-prone areas.
CMC member Ramesh Kanchan said that the recent attack by the private bus driver and conductor against the JNNURM bus driver and conductor near Manipal has demoralized the JNNURM bus operators to run the buses against the pressure from the private bus operators. There is no safety for the JNNURM bus staff. He added that there is a scarcity of the local people who apply for the post of driver and conductors. Most of them are from the North Karnataka region. The minister instructed the officials to start the bus facilities in the route Kalsanka-Gundibialu and to extend JNNURM bus services to Pragathinagara, Manchi, Manipal industrial area and Malpe beach.
Various gram Panchayat presidents and college students submitted a memorandum to the minister.