CHIKBALLAPUR: A KSRTC conductor has issued half tickets for two roosters being transported in his bus. The incident was reported from Gouribidanur in Chikkaballapur district on Sunday.
According to sources, a farmer named Srinivas boarded the bus from Gouribidanur with two country roosters.
On seeing the roosters, the bus conductors asked Srinivas to buy tickets for them too. Srinivas found it amusing and laughed it off, but the conductor insisted that he pay up. “It is mandatory to charge half tickets for carrying animals in the bus,” the conductor is said to have told the farmer.
The other passengers supported Srinivas saying it was hilarious of the conductor to charge tickets for roosters. Srinivas, it was, who had to give in, and the conductor issued half tickets worth `12 for each of the two roosters, particularly mentioning them as children.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Srinivas said that he was carrying the country roosters for a family gathering en route to his in-laws’ house.
The district president of Neeravari Horata Samithi Anjaneya Reddy said, “It is unfortunate that the government charges for carrying roosters in a bus that too `12 each.”
Reddy said it was common for villagers to transport small birds and animals by government buses, especially during the weekly santhes (markets). “Charging a fare for such things may seem funny, but it actually is a financial burden on the farmer,” he said.
A senior KSRTC official echoed the opinion. “It is mandatory to give tickets to pets like dogs and cats, and the passenger carrying the pets are instructed to control them, apart from buying a ticket. In this case, it is not difficult to handle roosters and a charge of `12 for one rooster is not justified.”