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Udupi: Minister asks KSRTC to take on challenge of pvt companies positively


Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Jan 25, 2017: Speaking at the first-ever Transport Adalat held in Udupi, District In-charge Minister Pramod Madhwaraj said the KSRTC should be proactive in combating the pressure from private transport companies. 


KSRTC BusThe minister said that henceforth private transport operators will not be allowed to establish their monopoly, as KSRTC would be an active player in the game.  The government has chalked out plans to introduce the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) buses at least in rural areas.


Students helped : At least 47 proposals have been given to the RTO for approval and submission before the RTA. Students from such areas will benefit greatly, as KSRTC buses will ply on routes that have very few buses, said Minister Madhwaraj.

Stating that the agenda for deploying the JNNURM buses was public comfort and not profit-making, Madhwaraj said 30 permits have been issued already, the timings will be fixed by the RTO soon. The roads in the district are being repaired using about Rs 700 crore and the KSRTC officials have been instructed to a study on the feasibility of permits considered.

Citizens in Maoist-prone areas have complained about the lack of public transport facilities in the region. Private bus owners have a monopoly over the transport in the areas and the public are harassed, they added.

A Hebri resident said that there are very few private buses plying in Hebri, Nadsal and other Maoist-prone areas. "The passengers are dumped like animals in the bus. The JNNURM buses should be provided in such areas, so that the students who come to Udupi for learning are benefited," he requested.

Residents of Hiriyadka, complained that the private bus lobby has ensured that JNNURM buses do not work in and around Hiriyadka. Sanjeev Shetty from Pragatipara Nagarikara Seva Samiti, Udupi, demanded the mini buses should be used in remote parts of the Maoist-prone region. He said the roads are good, challenging the usual reason given by KSRTC officials that the buses are not used in the areas as the roads are bad.

Siddapur users complained that as rural transport is dominated by private owners in Siddapur region, nearly 100 school and college students are finding it difficult to get transport facilities. The RTO is least bothered about the grievances submitted in the written form repeatedly.

City Municipal Council member R Kanchan said that the recent attack of a JNNURM bus driver and conductor near Manipal by a private bus driver and conductor has lessened the courage among JNNURM bus operators to run the buses.

’Lack of safety, security’ : "There is no safety for JNNURM bus staff. The drivers and conductors are counselled and a police complaint has been filed against the assaulted. There are few local people who apply for the posts of driver and conductors. Most of them are from North Karnataka region," added the member.

Minister Madhwaraj instructed the officials to start the bus facilities in the Kalsanka-Gundibialu route and to extend JNNURM bus services to Pragathinagara, Manchi, Manipal industrial area and to Malpe beach.