Mangalore, Mar 4(DHNS) : DC issues permits to run buses on 5 new routes at RTA meet.
Announcing a good news for the railway passengers who arrive at Kankanady Junction and face hardship bargaining with the autorickshaw drivers, Deputy Commissioner Dr N S Channappa Gowda informed that the Regional Transport Office of Mangalore will open the pre-paid auto service centre in Kankanady Junction in April.
Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of Regional Transport Authority meet at Deputy Commissioner’s office on Saturday, the DC said that the new pre-paid auto service kiosks will be opened and operated on the similar lines of the existing system in the Mangalore Central railway station and at the KSRTC bus stand. “There is huge demand from the passengers for starting the prepaid auto service in Kankanady junction and their demands will be materialised soon,” he said. Speaking about the status of already existing pre-paid kiosks in the city, he said the system is functioning well with stable response from the public in the Central railway station while it is not the same in the KSRTC bus stand.
Regional Transport Officer C Mallikarjuna informed that the RTO has the necessary fund and equipment to open the new pre-paid auto service counter. “We would work on it immediately and try to introduce the system within this month. If not in March, the system would be certainly introduced in April,” he said.
5 permits given
Earlier, in the RTA meet presided over by RTA Chairman and Deputy Commissioner Dr N S Channappa Gowda, permissions were granted for plying new buses on five different routes to connect the interior places. The DC granted permission to the private bus owners to ply buses on Dharmanagara-Kottarachowki, Guruvayanakaere-Gerukatte, Tenkamajaru-Moodbidri, Benjamajaru -Moodbidri and Arkula-Kinnigoli routes. Though the applicant had sought permission to ply from Dharmanagara to Baikampady Industrial area, the DC rejected the plea due to heavy traffic on Kuloor-Baikamapadi road and only granted permission to ply between Dharmanagara and Kottarachowki via Konaje, Deralakatte, Pumpwell, Kuntikana.
With regard to the request to ply on Arkula to Kinnigoli, the Deputy Commissioner said that two permissions were granted in the past but the parties are not plying the bus on the route. Therefore, notices will be served to the parties and if they are unwilling to ply buses on the said route, then permission will be granted to the new applicant.
Out of 114 applications that were submitted, majority of them faced objections. For the applications, objections came in the form of prior High Court judgement which said fresh permission for the applicants should be given according to the formulated rules of the State government.
However, the advocates representing the bus owners association counter argued upholding Section 80 of the Motor Vehicle Act which makes provision to grant permission to ply new buses based on the requirement.
The Deputy Commissioner said that decisions will be given out after studying the route survey.