| The recent announcement of the Kerala State Road | | | | the courtesy to acknowledge the role of the Kochi |
| Transport Corporation (KSRTC) that a new set of 15 | | | | Corporation in the project, she said. |
| premium buses would begin service in the city has | | | | Even though the bus project is running profitably in |
| been resented by the Kochi Corporation which feels | | | | Kochi, the KSRTC is not even unwilling to |
| that the KSRTC was keeping it in the dark about the | | | | acknowledge it. The actions of the KSRTC can never |
| project. | | | | be justified, she said. |
| "No one in the KSRTC online booking has bothered to | | | | The Corporation has also conveyed its willingness to |
| inform the Kochi corporation about the new bus | | | | run the bus service on its own to the Local |
| service and it was from the newspapers that I came | | | | Administration authorities if the KSRTC Buses was |
| to know about it," said the Kochi Mayor Mercy | | | | finding the project economically unviable, she said. |
| Williams. Though the news of bus service had | | | | Mr. Senkumar alleged that no one was willing to own |
| appeared in newspapers, the Kochi corporation has | | | | up the responsibility for running the service. It was with |
| not yet received any formal communication from the | | | | great hardship that a bus is pressed into service. The |
| KSRTC, which is highly objectionable, she said. | | | | KSRTC was operating the bus project within the |
| However, the KSRTC Managing Director T.P. | | | | ambit of the consensus reached earlier. In case of the |
| Senkumar said that the KSRTC had communicated | | | | non-AC low floor buses, the KSRTC has selected |
| the decisions regarding the routes to all those | | | | some routes, he said. |
| concerned including the Kerala Sustainable Urban | | | | A.B. Sabu, the UDF leader in the Kochi Corporation |
| Development Project authorities. If the bus service has | | | | blamed the civic administration for the situation. The |
| to be operated in the routes suggested by the Kochi | | | | KSRTC has hijacked the projects and the funds |
| Corporation, then it will have to pay for it. Otherwise, | | | | allotted to the Kochi corporation, he said. The civic |
| the Corporation can run the bus service on its own, Mr. | | | | body has no control over the funds or its utilisation and |
| Senkumar said. | | | | it has been reduced to the role of a mere spectator. |
| Ms. Williams alleged that the KSRTC was sidelining the | | | | The Opposition councillors had predicted the situation |
| Kochi Corporation in the matters of the bus project. | | | | and had objected to the Kochi Corporation handing |
| Though it was for the Kochi Corporation that the funds | | | | over the project to the KSRTC. The ineffective civic |
| were allotted from the Jawaharlal Nehru National urban | | | | administration alone should be blamed for the situation, |
| Renewal Mission , the KSRTC was implementing the | | | | he said. |
| project in a unilateral manner. The KSRTC didn't have | | | | |