Around 35 % of the buses of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) are being operated now and the services of the employees should be utilised on rotation basis, given the COVID-19 pandemic, its Vice-Chairman and Managing Director M. T. Krishna Babu said here on Tuesday.
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Mr. Krishna Babu, who is also the Principal Secretary (Transport), held a video conference with the RTC Executive Directors and Regional Managers across the State and reviewed the performance of the corporation which stopped operating buses from March 22 to May 20 owing to the lockdown. The services were partially restored from May 21 after the curbs were relaxed.
“The revenue earned by the Corporation in August and September was just sufficient to meet the fuel cost. From October, a monthly instalment of ₹70 crore needs to be paid to towards the bank loan for which, it is imperative for the APSRTC to operate buses in at least 30 lakh km daily with a minimum of 60 % occupancy ratio,” he said and asked the officials to plan the bus operations so as to ensure a minimum monthly revenue of ₹250 crore.
Mr. Krishna Babu asked the depot managers to boost the morale of the employees in the difficult phase of pandemic. “Around 4,500 (9%) employees of the corporation have tested positive for the virus till date and 72 of them died. The depot managers should infuse confidence among the staff and give them courage to discharge their duties effectively,” he said.
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COVID-19 protocols
Mr. Krishna Babu wanted all the staff to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 protocols without fail. Wearing masks, use of sanitizers and maintaining social distancing are mandatory, he said.
He said the staff union has agreed to contribute a day’s basic salary of the staff to help the families of the workers who died of the virus. “The kin of the deceased employees will be given ₹5 lakh,” he said.