The loss-making Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) suffered a revenue loss of Rs. 4.6 crore on account of the State-wide LDF hartal on Wednesday. The hartal came as a setback to the Corporation that was recovering from the financial crisis and the revenue loss of Rs. 4.6 crore will affect the payments of the KSRTC.
KSRTC officials said the revenue loss was caused as the it could not operate the schedules on Wednesday.
11 buses
The Corporation was able to operate 11 buses in the morning across the State during the dawn-to-dusk hartal. The buses were operated mainly in Changanacherry. As many as 14 buses in the fleet also suffered damage in the stone-pelting incidents in various parts of the State.
The overall attendance of employees in the KSRTC depots and offices across the State was 28 per cent and in the transport bhavan, the headquarters of the Corporation, in the capital, the attendance was 32 per cent.
Though the staff turned up in the depots to operate the services, the Corporation did not take the risk of plying the buses with police support fearing attack from the protestors.
The long-distance commuters and those staying in the hilly and remote areas were the most affected as they solely depend on the KSRTC for commuting. As the PSC interviews were not postponed, those who came for attending the interviews in the capital and district headquarters had to look for other modes of transport.
