The vexed issue between the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the 110-odd private stage carriers plying in the capital over the entry of private buses into the city bus terminal at East Fort to collect commuters remains unresolved.
The KSRTC has blocked the entry of the private buses — operating in the city limits since 1994 — to the bus terminal for the past two days after the crew of the private buses abused the crew of the State transport utility and waylaid the buses.
Blocking of KSRTC buses by private buses at the terminal; parking at the 100-m-long terminal for long periods of time; haphazard parking; and trailing of the buses has forced the KSRTC management to act.
The stand-off was triggered by a letter from KSRTC chairman and managing director (CMD) M.G. Rajamanickam to City Police Commissioner P. Prakash to register cases against private buses that enter the terminal.
According to the KSRTC, the terminal in the 75 cents of land parallel to the Fort wall is solely for the use of the fleet of the transport utility. The private buses were allowed a three-minute halt at the bus terminal since 1994 when private buses were granted permit to operate in city limits. Moreover, it has been pointed out that private buses do not commence or end schedules at East Fort.
The KSRTC has posted more personnel to prevent the entry of private buses and the city police have deployed more traffic police personnel to ease traffic problems in the busy East Fort-Pazhavangadi corridor as private buses stop on the road.
Space earmarked
The KSRTC CMD has suggested to the police to earmark the land close to the fort wall on the Hotel Luciya side for private buses. Talks by the police with private bus operators and the KSRTC have failed to resolve the issue. The operators have approached the District Collector to intervene.
The bus terminal was renovated at a cost of ₹2 crore by Kerala Tourism after a proposal to demolish the terminal was shelved. The proposal had suggested removal of the shops close to the fort wall to the north and south of the entrance leading to the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple for restoring the heritage structure.