The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) operated services on Tuesday as per schedule despite supporters of the dawn-to-dusk hartal called in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act turning their ire on the fleet across the State.
The windshields and emergency doors of 28 buses of the ailing transport undertaking were damaged in stone pelting.
Eight crew injured
Eight members of the crew, including six drivers, were injured and had to seek medical care. The loss on account of the damage to the buses is estimated at ₹56 lakh, a KSRTC official said. The labour cost for repairs and trip curtailments for the next three days will further increase the loss, he added.
A Munnar-bound super deluxe bus was attacked at Aluva at 4 a.m. although the hartal commenced only at 6 a.m. Incidents of attack on KSRTC buses came in from almost all districts and three zones of the KSRTC.
At some places, the supporters took away keys and a march was taken out at the bus station in Palakkad. The KSRTC operated 3,392 services and 820 of them had to be cancelled following stone pelting and agitation by supporters of hartal.
Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran deplored the attack on the buses.
KSRTC unit officers lodged complaints at the respective police stations across the State, the official said.
With private buses preferring to keep off the road in many districts, KSRTC services came in handy for office-goers and students and those who reached railway stations.
