With KSRTC buses off the road, students stay at home

Rural pockets worst-affected, with colleges, schools recording poor attendance; there were fewer visitors to temples in Dakshina Kannada

All for a ride:There were many instances of commuters travelling on the footboard of private buses in Mangaluru on Monday.— Photo: Special Arrangement

The strike called by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) staff on Monday inconvenienced many of its regular users, especially students, in the rural areas of Dakshina Kannada.

With the withdrawal of KSRTC bus services, private buses operating in the city and other parts of the district plied to full capacity. There were many instances of commuters travelling on the footboard of private buses. The problem was acute on the routes such as Mangaluru-Dharmasthala and Mangaluru-Puttur, which have more number of KSRTC buses.

Cabs deployed

Though more number of private buses and maxi cabs had been deployed, it did not prevent commuters from travelling on footboards of buses. There were allegations of private bus operators collecting more than the fixed fare.

Not a lot of students from places such as Krishnapura, Jokatte, Ulaibettu, Bajpe and Adyar went to schools and colleges in the city on Monday. Attendance was low in colleges such as Government Women’s College, Balmatta, and the Government College, Car Street.

The problem was worse in rural pockets. Nearly 50 per cent of the 1,350 students of the Government PU College, Uppinangady, did not turn up. There are around 700 KSRTC bus pass-holders from this institution. The attendance figures at the government colleges in Kadaba and Keyoor in Puttur taluk were as bad.

At St. George Secondary School and PU College, Nelyadi, nearly one-third of the 500 students did not turn up. The staff had the arduous task of ensuring that those who did come manage to go back home safe.

“We allowed them to leave 30 minutes earlier than usual. We walked with the students for about 3 km and ensured that each of them got a seat in the maxi cabs,” said a staff member.

There were fewer visitors to Kukke Subramanya, Shrikshetra Dharmasthala and Kateel Durgaparameshwari temples because of the strike. There was no disruption of services of the Kerala Road Transport Corporation from Kasaragod to Mangaluru and other parts of the district.

There were allegations of private bus operators collecting more than the fixed fare