Private buses to no longer halt at East Fort bay

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KSRTC has won the first round in its tussle with private bus operators for the East Fort bus bay, as a joint meeting under the district collector directed private buses to stop away from the bay. The meeting, in principle, decided to allow Over-bridge-bound private buses to stop just outside the compound wall of Lucia hotel near Vettimuricha kotta. Certain private buses have been allowed to stop besides the civil supplies store at Pazhavangadi at the tail-end of the disputed East Fort bus bay.

A few other buses can stop near Karimpanal Arcade inside Fort. However, District Collector K Vasuki left a loophole by stating that more discussions would have to be conducted in this regard. For the time being, the City Police has been directed to study the outcome of such a bus stop arrangement. Also, the motor vehicle department officials were directed to crack the whip on private buses that stop for more than three minutes at the stops. It was asked to rework the route frequency in the schedule which was chalked out in 1992.

In an attempt to mount pressure on private bus owners, a day ahead of the meeting, KSRTC officials had released pictures of private buses illegally parking next to their bay.  KSRTC had installed CCTVs and opened a control room next to the bus bay. “The district administration has accepted our argument that the bus bay stands on the land given to KSRTC by the government. Private buses may stop on the second bay away from ours,” said a senior transport official. Meanwhile, the private bus owners said that the arrangements would lead to difficulties to commuters who switched buses.