IDUKKI: When people come into our life, they become part of our everyday existence. But, could this be possible in the case of a KSRTC bus? Going by the adulation enjoyed by a KSRTC super fast operating on the Thiruvananthapuram-Mattuppetty (near Munnar) route, it is indeed possible. The residents fondly call the bus ‘Mattuppetty Machan’.
Right from 1992 when the bus started service, mainly to cater to the needs of the employees of the Mattuppetty-based Kerala Livestock Development Board (KLDB), it has played a key role in the lives of local residents. Now though, the bus ferries everyone. Since majority of KLDB employees hailed from Thiruvananthapuram and its neighbouring districts, the bus was a blessing for them.
The bus connects at least six districts, including Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Idukki. Subsequently, local politicians headed for the state secretariat, patients en route to the Regional Cancer Centre in the capital and college students became regulars. “During weekends, all the 49 seats will be booked. On other days, at least 30 seats will be booked on an average,” conductor of the bus T K Sumesh told TNIE.
He said considering the good collection and demand of residents, the service has never been discontinued. “Be it flood or strike, ‘Mattuppetty Machan’ arrives without fail,” said local resident Subhash C.
KLDB provides halting facility for bus crew
For economically backward cancer patients working in the plantation sector in Munnar, the bus is a major blessing. Since passengers in the bus are daily commuters who know one another, hardly any issues occur among the passengers despite it operating both day and night.To keep the service up and running, the KLD board has provided halting facility and rest room for the crew in Mattuppetty. The bus, which leaves Thiruvananthapuram at 10.30pm arrives at Mattuppetty around 6am. It sets off from Mattuppetty at 12.50 pm and pulls into Thiruvananthapuram at 9pm.