KOCHI: For the first time in the history of KSRTC, a private individual donated a significant amount of money to purchase a bus for the state carrier. On Wednesday, Angamaly native Jose K T, owner of He-Man Robo Park, handed over a cheque worth Rs 40 lakh to Chief Minister V D Satheesan for purchasing the vehicle.
Jose told TNIE that he handed over the cheque at the CM’s chambers. “The CM then handed over the cheque to Transport Minister C P John,” said the entrepreneur. According to him, he had always wanted to do something for the state’s public transport system. “So, when I came across an announcement made by the CM urging individuals, societies and corporates to step forward and contribute their CSR funds to upgrade KSRTC, I thought, ‘why not make a donation?’.”
Jose then approached the vice-president of Angamaly block panchayat. “He is a friend of mine, and we mooted the idea. He then got in touch with Higher Education Minister Roji M John, who is also Angamaly MLA. The minister then conveyed the same to the transport minister.
The matter reached the CM’s ears, who invited me to Thiruvananthapuram. We had a brief meeting before I handed over the cheque,” said Jose.
As for whether it was an unconditional donation? He said, “I just made one small request. I wanted the bus to be bought for Angamaly depot. I am an Angamaly native.
So obviously, I wanted the bus to conduct service from here. As for the type of bus, the money will be sufficient for an AC low-floor bus,” he added. He said that his demand was backed by the Angamaly MLA. Jose also made a suggestion to make use of the bus for KSRTC’s budget tourism project. “It was just a suggestion and not a compulsion. The route I suggested was Angamaly to Athirapally,” he added.