District Collector K. Gopalakrishnan has recommended a three-pronged mode of punishment against the crew of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses which were left on the city roads for hours on Wednesday following a flash strike by the staff.
A departmental inquiry into the violations of the Motor Vehicles Act and exemplary punishment to the erring bus crew to prevent such incidents in the future have been mooted.
As part of preparing a detailed report, the Collector visited the site where three KSRTC personnel were taken into custody and where a passenger T. Surendran collapsed at East Fort.
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He spoke to Assistant Transport Officer, KSRTC, N.K. Sam Lopez, passengers, crew of private buses and representatives of KSRTC trade unions. Trade union representatives told the Collector that the unions had not given any call for stir. Mr. Lopez said he was not aware of the happenings as he was in the police station.
The police have been approached to make available CCTV visuals from Vazhayila to East Fort to track the movement of the private bus involved in the incident that reportedly sparked off the incidents.
The Collector said the final report would be submitted soon. He said the undeclared strike and the haphazard parking of buses on the road blocking vehicular traffic could not be justified. He also recommended to bring the services of the KSRTC under the Essential Services Maintenance Act.
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The government has also sought a report from the KSRTC on the incident and the loss sustained by the fleet. The Regional Transport Officer has asked for the details of the bus crew who were on duty on Wednesday.
The police have also started collecting the details of the KSRTC drivers who abandoned the buses on the road.
Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran will take a call on the preliminary report of the Collector and the one submitted by the RTO, Thiruvananthapuram.
Body handed over
Meanwhile, the body of Surendran, the passenger who collapsed and died at the East Fort bus stop, was handed over to the relatives after a post-mortem examination at General Hospital and was taken to Vithura. Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the government would extend support to the family of Surendran.