The spike in the number of COVID-19 cases has disrupted the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation’s budget tourism trips from Kozhikode district to various ecotourism spots in the State. Many scheduled trips have been cancelled and the booking amount refunded to passengers.
Tour coordinators said no booking would be accepted at the KSRTC’s Thamarassery depot until further orders. The detection of some COVID-19 cases among those who took part in a recent trip to Munnar from Kozhikode also prompted the KSRTC to temporarily suspend scheduled trips.
Officials at the KSRTC’s State-level control room said there would be restrictions on all sightseeing trips for two weeks. The curbs would be lifted only after a review meeting, they said.
Concerns over a third wave affected services when the KSRTC was about to make a good profit from such trips. The increase in the number of bookings was a testimony to the popularity of the cost-effective trips that attracted many youths and elderly persons. About 300 persons had benefitted from the trips organised to Munnar, Wayanad and Nelliyampathy.
Trip coordinators at the Thamarassery depot said the payment made by passengers had been credited to their accounts. However, the old reservation list would be maintained to give priority to the passengers when the trips would resume, they added.
