KOCHI: The long-pending demand of Vypeen residents of starting a bus service to the city remains a distant dream. After prolonged protests that saw the participation of several public figures, the state government assured the people to resolve their travel woes. However, there is hardly any change in the situation.
“It has been three months and nothing concrete has been done so far,” said MP Hibi Eden, who led an agitation. According to him, it is possible only if the state government issues a GO cancelling the nationalisation of the routes. “This is not the KSRTC’s job. Only if the nationalised status of the routes is removed will it be possible for private buses to conduct services to and from Vypeen islands and the city,” he said.
However, KSRTC and its union are not agreeing to the cancellation of the notification. “Why does KSRTC go around nationalising the routes on which it won’t be plying buses? Because of its actions, other parties can’t come in, and in the end, it is the people who are left in a lurch. If the Vypeen islands get a direct bus to the city, they don’t have to suffer the vagaries of nature while travelling,” said former transport commissioner B J Antony.
According to the Greater Cochin Development Watch (GCDW), Kochi is the only city in the state that has a metro service. “Hence, it should be seen as a special case and the state government needs to come up with a special transport policy or modify or cancel conditions in the notification in the MVD rules,” said the GCDW.
Meanwhile, Hibi alleged that every time there is a protest, the ministers or the authorities concerned silence it by flagging off a bus. “And that’s it! This has been happening for so long,” he said.
GCDW said, “The state government should deploy at least 20 buses from the Goshree islands to the nearest metro station and allow the same number of city buses to conduct service to the islands.”
Questioning the necessity of holding a meeting with the KSRTC, the Vypeen MLA, MVD officials, and the GCDW, the MP said, “It is all an eye-wash. During the meeting held on March 15, the MVD was removed from the responsibilities of initiating follow-up measures while the KSRTC, which is against the very idea of allowing private buses on the route, was assigned the job of finding a solution. This in itself is controversial.”
This was a ‘wait-and-watch period’ for me, said the MP. “But since things are not going in the right direction, I will be planning another set of agitation very soon and to take up the issue in the Parliament too,” he said.