THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There could be a ‘bandh’ on all major roads across Kerala on December 20, with KSRTC pensioners are taking their protest to the streets in view of pension disbursement stopping for five months.
The KSRTC Pensioners’ Organisation decided to shift the mode of protest as protesting in front of Transport Bhavan and at various depots have not yielded any result. They will block major roads in all districts and will continue their protest in front of Secretariat from December 21 onwards.
The pensioners are angry with Finance Minister Thomas Isaac for being non-committal to their sufferings. “The government says our pension hinges on the revival of the KSRTC. But we want the government to take up the responsibility like it is taking the pension liabilities of similar public utilities, such as KWA, KSEB and Housing Board,” said Ashraf.
The KSRTC spends around C60 crore every month for giving pensions to 38,516 retirees. A series of suicides by distraught pensioners and protests that followed forced the previous UDF government in December 2014 to pitch in 50 per cent of the amount needed to pay the pension on a monthly basis while making KSRTC responsible to find the other half.