The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has asked the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to reconsider its decision to hire 250-odd buses by abandoning dozens of buses that remain idle during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Commission member K. Baijunath raised the demand considering the pleas of the KSRTC employees as well as Palakkad-based rights activist Raymant Antony.
Alleging that the KSRTC authorities had decided to hire private luxury buses to help some private players, Mr. Antony had said that the high-tech and low-floor buses of the KSRTC had run without any problems until the COVID-19 pandemic. “Allowing those buses to rust in KSRTC sheds will be suicidal,” he had said in a complaint.
The SHRC also asked the KSRTC management to distribute salaries to the employees in the first week of every month. Mr. Baijunath said the employees had to play a significant role in salvaging the KSRTC out of its debts.
The KSRTC has reportedly told the commission that it could give salary to the employees during the COVID-19 period with the special help from the government. According to the KSRTC management, the delay of the government funds in reaching from the treasury to the KSRTC account had caused the delay in the salary distribution.
