Former MLA hires 40% of Mandya’s KSRTC fleet for daughter’s wedding
Public in the district were extremely inconvenienced after Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) officials permitted a former MLA to hire 40% of the Mandya fleet on Thursday. The paucity of buses in the district resulted in commuters in rural areas having to endure a long wait between buses.
Ex MLA hired as many as 218 buses, of a total 503, to ferry his supporters from Mandya to Bengaluru for his daughter’s wedding at the Bengaluru Palace Grounds. The former MLA hired the KSRTC buses on a contract basis, and they were used to transport his fans and supporters from across the district.
Sources said that the buses hired were mostly operating out of Mandya, Nagamangala, Malavalli, Pandavapura, KR Pet, Maddur, Turuvekere depots. “The 218 buses started leaving Mandya right from 5am,” sources said.
KSRTC’s Mandya divisional controller Mahesh told, “The number of buses hired for the wedding was 218, of which 25 were returned in the morning.”
Denying claims of the move to lend buses for a private ceremony having disrupted regular services, he added, “We cancelled express service buses to Bengaluru and Mysuru, since there are plenty of buses to these places from other divisions. Buses were cancelled only along those routes that had multiple schedules.”
Pointing out that leasing buses on contract was profitable for KSRTC, he said, “On routine service, we get around Rs 23 to Rs 25 per kilometre. But, while leasing buses on casual contract, we get Rs 34.”
