KOCHI: This could figure right on top of the heights of inefficiency list of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), and serve as a pointer on why the corporation is making such huge losses.
Last Sunday, a KSRTC bus (RAM 972) plying on the Paravur-Ernakulam Jetty-Guruvayur route was delayed by nearly 90 minutes after it was found that the wiper was not working properly, that too during peak monsoon. The cascading effect resulted in later services from the jetty station being delayed.
This is not an one-off incident and the employees are past masters in delaying and cancelling services on any silly pretext, according to sources.
“The fault could have been rectified in two minutes by tying a thread around the wiper or replacing the wiper blade. But what happened was embarrassing. The bus, which was scheduled to leave for Guruvayur at 6.15am from the jetty stand, reached the main Ernakulam bus station before 6am to get the wiper repaired. However, it took more than an hour to replace the blade and the service was rescheduled to 7.40 am,” said a source at the Ernakulam bus station.
When contacted, jetty bus stand authorities admitted the delay and said that the service of the bus to Guruvayur at 2.40pm had to be cut short at Triprayar due to the total delay.
According to the engineering wing, it would take two to five minutes to replace a wiper blade. “We don’t know why the delay occurred.
Normally, we provide another bus even if it’s a small repair job. Since there is no log book of the entry and exit time of the bus, we are not sure when the work was completed,” said the source.
The Ernakulam KSRTC workshop carried out 18 minor and major repair works on Sunday. And all these services were delayed. “Though the transport corporation is facing severe financial crisis, a section of the employees have still not woken up to ground realities,” the officer added.
Times of India
