Students take out march seeking KSRTC bus service in Mangaluru

MANGALURU

Hundreds of students took out a procession and staged a demonstration in Kundapur demanding Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus services to Kollur, Maranakatte and Bellala from Kundapur on Saturday.

Protesting under the banner of Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishat (ABVP), the students demanded KSRTC services on Kollur-Hemmadi-Kundapur, Keradi-Maranakatte-Kundapur and Keradi-Bellala-Kundapur routes.

Speaking on the occasion, ABVP Kundapur taluk convener Jayasurya Shetty lamented that not many KSRTC local buses operate to the renowned pilgrimage centre Kollur from Kundapur. As a result, the student community too has been affected as they have to travel on private buses. They are deprived of student bus pass facility being offered by KSRTC, he said.

Mr. Shetty noted that about 1,500 students from Kollur and surrounding areas travel to various schools and colleges in Kundapur every day. On the Keradi-Bellala-Kundapur route, over 400 students travel daily, while on the Keradi-Maranakatte-Kundapur route, nearly 500 students travel daily. All these students do not have KSRTC bus facility. Despite repeated appeals to elected representatives and the KSRTC, no action has been taken, he said.

Giving a week’s time to the authorities to address the issue, the ABVP cautioned that it will hold a demonstration in front of the KSRTC depot at Kundapur and prevent movement of buses. Student leaders Dhwani, Nagesh, Srinidhi, Anusha, Dhanush, Ranjith, Deepa, Abhishek, Nithin and others were present.