Bandh result: Scarce bus movement; Transport sector suffer loss of over Rs 3.5 crore

Mangaluru: Although the Bharat Bandh did not have much effect on the life of the people, it has definitely had an adverse effect on transport sector of the two undivided districts along the coast of the state. As private and government buses from Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts stayed off the roads, losses of more than Rs 3.5 crore has been incurred by the sector.

In both the districts, more than 3,600 private buses ply to the city, towns and other areas. But for the two days, more than 3,000 private buses stayed off the roads and it is estimated that a loss of Rs 2 crore has been incurred by the private bus sector.

There are more than 360 city buses in Mangaluru and as there was very little presence of people in the streets on Tuesday, most of the bus trips were cut short. Because of this, the city bus sector suffered an estimated loss of Rs 50 lakh.

KSRTC incurs a loss of Rs 1.20 crore

More than 350 buses move from KSRTC Mangaluru division daily. Close to 560 buses ply from Puttur division daily. Due to the bandh, both the depots have suffered a loss of close to Rs 1 crore. On the first day of the strike, of the 255 buses, only 158 functioned, while in the Puttur division, of the 288 buses there, only 184 provided services. On the second day, of the 251 buses in Mangaluru division, 205 functioned and in Puttur division, 244 of the 283 buses there provided services.

Transport as usual

On normal days, there is a bus to Kasaragod from KSRTC Mangaluru division at the frequency of a bus per three minutes with a total of 42 buses providing services, But during the two days of bandh, not a single bus functioned. As of Thursday, the bus services have resumed back to normal.

KSRTC suffers a loss of Rs 7.82 crore

Due to the Bharat Bandh the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has incurred a loss of Rs 5.40 crore on the first day and Rs 2.42 crore on the second day. Anyhow, in the two days of the strike, KSRTC has suffered a loss total loss of Rs 7.82 crore.

Buses are in loss

The Kanara Bus Owners Association’s president K Ratnavarma Ballal spoke with ‘Udayavani’ and said that in the two days most of the private buses remained out of service. With the aim to not to cause trouble to the passengers, a few buses were providing service. However, since there were only a handful of passengers, a great loss was incurred. A few bus owners gave money to the conductors under loss itself, he informed.

Rs 72 lakh in loss

“KSRTC Mangaluru division has incurred a loss of Rs 72 lakh in the two days. On the first day 1.50 lakh kms of route and on the second day, 64,000 kms of routes were cancelled,” said Deepak Kumar, divisional officer on Mangaluru KSRTC

Rs 50 lakh in loss

“Due to the bandh, city bus services got cancelled because of which losses close to more than Rs 50 lakh were incurred. As the number of passengers was negligible, more number of trips were cancelled,” said Dilraj Alva, president of private bus owners association.                                      

Article by Naveen Bhat Ilanthil translated into English by Aaron Dmello