The recent diesel price hike has put the KSRTC in deep financial mess.
At the current rate, the loss being incurred by the sector per month will increase from Rs 70 crore to Rs 90 crore, said Transport Minister Aryadan Mohammed.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a function held here on Saturday.
If both the Centre and the State Government do not cooperate, the KSRTC will be forced to close down, he said. He said that the Chief Minister along with other ministers will visit the authorities concerned in Delhi, seeking a waiver on the price hike.
“We believe that the meeting will be a failure. Nevertheless, we are giving it a try,” he said.
The KSRTC is also planning to fill diesel from private pumps, which will help reduce the burden on the sector.
“However, it has also got a setback. If KSRTC buses start entering private pumps during day time, it will result in traffic congestion in the cities.,” he said
He added that the only feasible step was to fill petrol from these pumps during the night.
This will require us to employ more drivers and conductors for duty,” the Minister added.
Aryadan, who is also the Minister for Power, said that there will be no loadshedding in the state in the coming days owing to students’ examination.
He also urged the people to be more careful in terms of power consumption.
When pointed out that the power consumption of all ministers in the state is generally high, Aryadan assured that it will be taken care of by next month.