RIP? KSRTC has arranged ‘Mock Funeral’ of burnt buses that were torched during garment workers protest, in order to bring awareness among rampaging mobs not to vandalize public or state property in future.
Mangaluru: Seems like a unique awareness move, that the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Tuesday, 10 May took out a “mock funeral” of its buses that were burnt during the garment workers’ protest in April 2016. This was part of the KSRTC’s two-day campaign ‘It’s My Bus’ to create awareness among rampaging crowd not to vandalize public or state property during protests. All the burnt buses were displayed at Majestic bus station and few other major bus stations.
After inaugurating the campaign at the Majestic bus station, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said, “The KSRTC buses were becoming vulnerable to vandalism as they are easy targets of mobs. Vandalizing public property is not the solution to the problems. Instead, the public should choose non-violent methods to solve their issues. Speaking to media persons, Rajender Kumar Kataria, KSRTC Managing Director, said , “It has become a routine for mobs to damage government buses which were purchased from taxpayers’ money. During the recent garment workers protest, ee lost Rs 10-15 crore due to damage to the buses. When I visited the Peenya depot soon after the protest, I decided to do something to prevent such damages in the future.”
Kataria also said he hoped the initiative would become a talking point and help prevent future damages to public property. Artist Badal Nanjundaswamy had painted an undamaged bus as part of the campaign. (The above picture)
