BJP-CPM spat over e-buses in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram: The BJP that came to power in Thiruvananthapuram corporation for the first time is engaged in a heated debate with the CPM-led Left Democratic Front government in Kerala over electric buses operating as part of the Smart City project.

Mayor V V Rajesh has objected to the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) operating the buses outside the city corporation limits. He said that many people living in the outskirts of the city were facing travel woes and hence the bus needed to be used to benefit them.

Reacting to it, state transport minister K B Ganesh Kumar said that KSRTC could return the buses if the mayor gives a written request.

He however added that the state government had also shared the cost of the buses. Though it was initially running at a loss, it was made profitable after putting in a lot of effort.

Rajesh cited that his predecessor Arya Rajendran (of the CPM) herself had noted in a social media post that the buses were being procured to address the travel woes of people in the city and a tripartite agreement involving the KSRTC was also made. But that has been violated. Rajesh also said that since the buses were purchased using the SmartCity project fund to the city corporation, the corporation is also entitled for profit share.

Irked by the minister's comment that the buses could not be kept at KSRTC's stand, the mayor said that the corporation has enough space to accommodate over hundred or more buses.