The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has been incurring a loss of Rs. 1 crore daily in the last 15 days owing to the ongoing Cauvery agitation.
Deputy Chief Minister R. Ashok, who also holds Transport and Home portfolios, told presspersons on Monday that the KSRTC has reduced its services between Bangalore and Mysore, and other districts in the Cauvery basin due to the agitation. The corporation has been incurring a loss of Rs. 30 to Rs. 35 lakh daily in the last two weeks due to disruptions in the movement of bus services between Mysore-Bangalore alone, he said.
Besides reduction of number of buses, the number of passengers travelling between Bangalore-Mysore and Bangalore and other districts in the Cauvery basin had reduced thanks to the road blocks on the State highway. The KSRTC has been operating its fleet on alternative routes between Mysore and Bangalore, he said.
After the all-India bandh against hike in diesel prices, the State observed a bandh last Saturday opposing the release of water to Tamil Nadu. Two days of bandh and the ongoing Cauvery agitation hit bus services in southern parts of the State. Asked about the law and order situation in the State, he said normality has been restored in the Cauvery basin. Farmers in the basin region had launched a peaceful agitation against the release of Cauvery waters to Tamil Nadu, he said.
