KSRTC employees perform 'Urulu Seve' to register protest

KSRTC employees in Kodagu protested against the government in a unique way by performing ‘Urulu Seve’ and by preparing food at the KSRTC bus stand in Madikeri as a part of their statewide stir on Friday.

Passengers struggled as the buses remained off-road during the entire day.

Pressing for their demands, the protestors said that KSRTC is one of the essential services. But, the government is neither paying the KSRTC staff adequately nor are they considered as government employees.

Under the pretext of lack of revenue, KSRTC is being ignored. Despite the staff working for years, the basic salary has not been hiked. On the contrary, the working hours have been increased, they said.

Food preparation

The KSRTC staff cooked food on the premises of the KSRTC bus stand in Madikeri on Friday.

They prepared breakfast in the morning and meals in the afternoon and had the food together. They also clarified they do not mean to trouble the people by calling off duties.

They said that they concerned about their families as the current salaries paid by the government is inadequate to feed their family members.

The protests will continue till the government fulfils their demand.

Passengers held up

Passengers who were unaware of the stir by KSRTC workers were held up in the bus stand.

There were many passengers who were bound to Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hassan and Bengaluru. There were also patients who were travelling for medical treatment in hospitals in Mysuru and Mangaluru.

Most of them were expecting the bus services to resume in the evening. However, bus services did not commence.

Undue advantage

Taking undue advantage of the KSRTC workers’ stir, the private buses charged the passengers double the fair for travels bound to faraway locations.

In Suntikoppa, passengers were seen travelling on private vehicles.

The private bus owners had operated buses on Madikeri-Suntikoppa-Kushalnagar route, which gave relief for the waiting passengers.