Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (DV)
Mangaluru, Apr 11: District in-charge minister Kota Srinivas Poojary on Sunday April 11 expressed happiness over the increase in operation of KSRTC buses in the district amid the protest by the employees of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) employees.
In his message, Kota noted that as people are suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic, it is not fair to put the public into inconvenience by holding protests. "Keep faith in the government. Get back to work, and in coming days the problems facing employees will be sorted out," he assured.
Poojary also stated that though KSRTC employees continued to protest demanding higher pay under the sixth pay commission, the number of buses resuming service in Mangaluru and Puttur divisions has increased. While normally 480 buses commute from Mangaluru, on Saturday April 10, as many as 140 buses commuted to Bengaluru, Mysuru, Dharmasthala, Hubballi, Kasargod, Hyderabad, Madurai, Coimbatore, and Mantralaya despite the protests, he said, adding that 200 buses would have plied on these routes on April 11.
"In the coming days, measures will be taken to increase the number of buses. As the drivers and technical staff are responding in a positive way and returning to duty, measures will be taken to increase the number of buses," he informed.
In the Puttur division, as many as 47 buses on April 10 and 75 buses on April 11 commuted to Bengaluru, Mysuru, Shivamogga, Madikeri, and other places.
He also appealed to rest of the employees to get back to work.