Fadnavis asks Mah CM to resolve MSRTC financial crisis

Mumbai: BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Monday urged Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to intervene in the affairs of loss-making Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) as its employees are in serious financial and emotional distress due to delay in payment of salaries.

Shiv Sena minister Anil Parab handles the transport portfolio in the MVA government.

Fadnavis, in a letter to Thackeray, said there have been instances of MSRTC employees committing suicide due to their poor financial condition.

””I appeal to you to intervene in the matter and resolve the financial crisis of MSRTC employees,”” the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly said.

Last week, an MSRTC driver allegedly committed suicide in Dhule district in north Maharashtra.

The driver, Kamlesh Bhikan Bedse (44), left behind a note in which he said he was fed up with low salary and delay in its payment and was not able to pay off his debts, police had said.

The MSRTC is one of the biggest state-run road transport undertakings of the county with a fleet of over 18,000 buses and around one lakh employees.

In November last year, the Maharashtra government had announced a Rs 1,000-crore financial package for the cash- strapped transport corporation.