KSRTC M'luru division stitches, sells affordable masks

The staff of KSRTC’s Mangaluru division, not keen on buying mouth masks at exorbitant prices, have not only begun to stitch the masks but are also selling them at a nominal price to passengers.

According to sources in the division, KSRTC’s Chamarajnagar Division first hit upon the novel idea of stitching their own mouth masks for their staff. Owing to the support from KSRTC Managing Director Shivayogi C Kalasad, soon mechanics in KSRTC Mangaluru and Davangere divisions begun stitching the masks.

“Every division has a stitching machine to do upholstery work like bus seats, curtains among others. We have women mechanics in each division workshop to do the upholstery work. Thus money was spent only on procuring clothes from outside and stitching the masks,’’ sources added.

As on March 19, 130 schedules of premium services from KSRTC’s Mangaluru and Puttur divisions was cancelled. The collective loss was estimated at Rs 1.34 crore. In the non-premium services, 184 schedules of KSRTC Mangaluru and Puttur were cancelled resulting in a revenue loss to the tune of Rs 58.99 lakh.