KOPPAL: Struggling with part-salary for two months and debts mounting by the day, a 38-year-old bus conductor with the North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation on Wednesday posted on Facebook that he was ready to sell his kidney.
Hanumanth Kalegar, with Gangavati depot of Koppal district, said he has been with the state transport corporation – first with BMTC and then with NEKRTC – for nearly 20 years and the crisis in his life was “unprecedented”.
Within hours, his Facebook post went viral, and drew attention of the transport authorities. MA Mulla, NEKRTC divisional controller of Koppal division, said he met Hanumanth and his family members on Wednesday and assured them of help.
“We’ve released salary dues for December and January. Hanumanth and his colleagues have received full salary for those months,” he added. The conductor agreed to take down the post after positive action from the authorities.
Hanumanth told TOI he gets a monthly pay of Rs 16,000, and was receiving Rs 4,000 due to staggered payout forced by the pandemic since last year. “Part payment of salary pushed me into a deep financial crisis,” he added.
He pays Rs 3,500 in monthly rent. Besides running the family and paying school fees of three children, he has to foot his aged parents’ treatment cost. He sent his son, a Class VI student, to grandparents’ house as he could not afford a cellphone for his classes.