KOCHI: The High Court on Thursday upheld the decision of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to charge passengers Rs 40 for non-AC buses and Rs 75 for AC buses plying from Nilakkal to Pampa during the Mandala-Makaravilakku festival season.
The court also expressed hope the KSRTC would operate the service without fault and causing any inconvenience to the pilgrims. Meanwhile, the Bench declined to accept the offer made by the Ayyappa Seva Samajam to provide 150 buses to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) free of cost to ensure hassle-free pilgrimage. A Division Bench comprising Justice P R Ramachandra Menon and Justice Devan Ramachandran issued the order while dismissing a batch of petitions challenging the hike in bus fare from Nilakkal to Pampa as well as the ban on movement of the private vehicle along the Pampa stretch. The KSRTC has imposed cess as well as the ghat road fare and exorbitant festival fare. The move was only to fleece the pilgrims to tide over the financial crisis which was the result of the mismanagement, the petitions stated. The Bench said the government had approved the KSRTC’s decision to increase the fare considering the rise in the operating cost, including fuel price.
The KSRTC had earlier submitted it was operating 200 buses, including 60 non-AC Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) buses and 40 AC low-floor buses from Nilakkal to Pampa in addition to 200 super class service buses from various depots to Pampa. As many as 1,000 buses will be arranged for operating services between Nilakkal and Pathanamthitta on the day before Makaravilakku. In a first-of-its-kind, as many as 10 electric buses will be operated from Nilakkal to Pampa. The KSRTC assured it will arrange additional buses depending on demand. It has also introduced a cloak room system for the first time at Pampa and Nilakkal.
Other arrangements made by KSRTC
Ayyappa Darshan - A tour package will be introduced by the KSRTC from the Kochi airport to the Chengannur railway station for Sabarimala pilgrims
Around 800 employees will be working round the clock, in three shifts
Self-ticket kiosks will be made available at Nilakkal and Pampa so the passengers can buy tickets according to their convenience
KSRTC has introduced Digital Ticketing System with barcode facility to avoid congestion at the bus stations in Pampa and Nilakkal.
