Kottayam: With oil marketing companies discontinuing diesel supplies to the debt-ridden KSRTC due to mounting dues, several depots across the state have plunged into a crisis.
Non-availability of diesel resulted in the corporation cutting down many of its scheduled services on Monday.
If no action was taken to clear bill arrears by Tuesday, more services operating under central depots in almost all districts will be cancelled, sources in the Corporation said.
Two days have passed since oil marketing firms last supplied fuel to the KSRTC’s Kottayam depot. The central depot is also responsible for providing diesel to the Mallapally depot which does not have refueling facilities.
On Monday, many KSRTC buses operating in the district had to source fuel from retail outlets as done by private bus operators.
The Kottayam depot receives around 24,000 liters of diesel per day whereas the 120 services operating from various depots in the district require over 10,000 liters a day.
Many depots across the state are confronting the same crisis after the oil companies were compelled to cut the supplies in view of swelling dues.
It is the long-route services that have been hit hard by the fuel crisis. As these buses were not able to fill full tank of fuel, they were forced to depend on other depots to refuel each time when they ran out of fuel.
Mass cancellation of services have severely affected the empaneled staff, the employees recruited through employment exchanges on a temporary basis, as most of them are yet to receive the last month’s salary.
There are around 200 empaneled drivers, conductors and mechanics at various depots in Kottayam district alone. They are desperately waiting for the disbursal of salaries because if they resort to strike work like the permanent staff, they will be dismissed from service.
It is alleged that KSRTC labor unions are unwilling to take up the issue to ensure payment of empaneled staff’s salary.
