With its Tamil Nadu-bound fleet staying off the road for the 10th day, the losses incurred by APSRTC continues to rise.
The corporation had decided to confine its buses to the depots, following violent attacks by fringe linguistic and political groups of TN on the RTC buses following the alleged encounter in which 20 woodcutters from Tamil Nadu were killed in the Seshachalam forests.
The RTC runs 214 buses to various destinations in Tamil Nadu, most of them to Chennai, Kanchipuram, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai and Puducherry. While bulk of the services are operated from Tirupati, some are from Nellore, and long distance services to the neighbouring State are operated from Kurnool, Kadapa and Vijayawada too. “All the 214 services have been kept off the road for 10 days, which has caused an estimated loss of Rs .4.2 crore ”, says Naga Subba Reddy, Assistant Traffic Manager of Tirupati central bus station. The bays meant for buses on the Chennai and Vellore routes wear a deserted look. While the passenger rush continues to be high, given the heavy passenger footfall from Tamil Nadu, the number of buses run by the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) of Tamil Nadu appears to be grossly insufficient. The traffic on the train services has also witnessed a phenomenal rise.
Senior officials of RTC Tirupati region are monitoring the security arrangements with the transport and police officials in Chennai.
