Thiruvananthapuram: The KSRTC, which is struggling to pay off salaries to its staff and pension to the retired employees, is also finding it difficult to meet the expense for the spare parts and repair of both the low-floor AC and non-AC buses due to financial constraints. These buses are operated through a separate company named Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC).
About 30 percent of low-floor buses are in workshops at present. Of the 199 buses at KURTC in Thiruvananthapuram, 69 are in workshops. Similar is the situation in other cities in the state. Mr C.K. Harikrishnan, general secretary, CITU-affiliated Kerala State Road Transport Employees Association, told Deccan Chronicle the KSRTC had some outstanding arrears towards the bills of both spare parts and maintenance of buses. In fact, the issue was sorted out through the intervention of managing director M.G. Rajamanickyam. He had held talks with the Volvo authorities and paid the arrears for the spare parts, Mr Harikrishnan said.
The average expenses on the maintenance work for low-floor AC and non-AC buses are Rs 1.20 lakh and Rs 15,000 respectively. The KSRTC has not entered into an annual maintenance contract with the company. The total loss caused due to the non-operation of buses came to around Rs 12 lakh daily. These buses were purchased with the financial assistance from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in 2008. The KURTC was formed in 2014.
