MANGALORE: Fearing that the district administration’s plan to introduce 30 KSRTC city buses in Mangalore will break their monopoly, DK Private Bus Operators Association urged the Centre not to release funds under the JnNURM.
Recently, the Association had shot off a letter to the Union Ministry of Urban Development, opposing the allocation of funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) to Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.
In the letter, the Association alleged that the services offered by KSRTC buses were poor and the people prefer private buses. The granting of funds would be a waste, it said.
Mayor Mahabala Marla said: “After much efforts by the Mangalore City Corporation, the city was selected under JnNURM scheme.”
According to sources in KSRTC, the Association sent the letter on January 17, 2014. The Under Secretary, Pankaj Kumar, had forwarded the letter to the state government and also to the managing director of KSRTC.
V K Puthran, secretary of the Dakshina Kannada Private Bus Operators Association, said:”We had tried to convince the government to look into the problems of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.”
Mangalore Divisional Traffic Controller Chandrashekar said the government has proposed 65 buses for Mangalore and Udupi districts.