Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 11 (IANS) In a first-of-its-kind initiative, a cooperative society has stepped in to strengthen the cash-strapped Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), buying a bus with its public welfare fund and offering it to the state-run transport utility.
The Calicut City Service Cooperative Society has forked out Rs 40 lakh to purchase a new KSRTC bus, with the vehicle proposed to operate on the Kozhikode-Palakkad-Muthalamada-Parambikulam route.
Transport Minister C.P. John on Tuesday welcomed the initiative, describing it as a strong example of how public sector institutions could be supported through people’s participation.
He said the move could become a model for similar interventions by cooperative institutions, local bodies, and elected representatives.
The minister said the government was actively considering a proposal to permit cooperative societies to use their public welfare funds to support the KSRTC.
A favourable decision on the matter is expected shortly.
The initiative comes at a time when KSRTC is seeking to expand and modernise its ageing fleet.
The government has set a target of putting 2,000 new buses on the roads, and the minister said such people-driven initiatives could help the corporation move towards that goal.
The proposal for the bus service was reportedly born out of the travel difficulties experienced by people in the Muthalamada region.
A local cancer institute’s Chairman C.N. Vijayakrishnan, who had earlier contested from the Nenmara Assembly constituency, took up the initiative after witnessing the difficulties faced by passengers and government employees travelling to the area.
The proposed service is expected not only to ease the commuting problems of people in Muthalamada and neighbouring areas but also to improve connectivity to Parambikulam, one of Kerala’s important tourism destinations.
John thanked the Calicut City Service Cooperative Society and Vijayakrishnan for the initiative, saying it demonstrated how a public-sector institution could be held close by society through collective participation.
He called upon other cooperative organisations, local self-government institutions and people’s representatives to emulate the initiative, stressing that public support would remain the biggest strength in protecting the State’s public transport system.
The move effectively puts a new idea on the table for KSRTC: instead of public transport being seen solely as a government responsibility, communities and institutions could also become stakeholders in keeping the network running.
–IANS
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