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Bus commuters hang on foot boards while Dist Admin clings to 1992 DM notification

By Wilma Serrao

Mangaluru: Take a stroll down the city during peak hours. Bunch of people hanging on foot boards of buses not for joy but out of helplessness, people running behind a bus to reach home, a sigh of relief on boarding the same last bus home, disappointment of losing it and elated brim on face on getting a seat in that crowded bus are some of the emotions that would catch one’s eyes in the concrete jungle of Mangaluru.

The public transport system of undivided Dakshina Kannada is surely a jewel of the region. However, a peep into the transport department documents show that the district administration has not issued licence for new buses since 1992, thereby clinging on to an order passed by the then Deputy Commissioner about 22-years-ago.

While a section of society argues that the non-issuance of the licences for new buses has caused a lot of inconvenience to people, the district administration has a different take on this, still arguing that there is not need for additional buses in the city.

Nagarika Hitharakshana Vedike President Hanumantha Kamath highlighted how the people in the city have been facing problems as the DC and the officials concerned have denied to relax District Magistrate’s (DM) notification of 1992, enabling issuing of permits for more number of buses to operate from State Bank of India terminus to various parts of the city.

"The most-quoted 1992 notification was issued when the roads within the city were narrow. Then, saying that the additional buses would create congestion made sense. Later in a judgement, the High Court is said to have ruled that the DC of Dakshina Kannada has the authority to revise or amend the 1992 notification depending on the existing situation. In last 22 years, Mangalore has witnessed a huge change. The city roads are widened, enabling the free flow of traffic. But, the Deputy Commissioners since 1992 have failed to take a stand accordingly in this regard,” Kamath said.
 
DC talks:

Justifying the take on denying relaxation on 1992 DM notification, Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim speaking to Udayavani English and stated that lack of town planning has led to numerous civic issues, including narrow roads and lack of footpaths. “The city is growing only between Kottara and Pumpwell circle, and there is much scope for growth in other region too. We want to make sure that the city is not overcrowded with vehicles. Certain survey conducted by the RTA and the RTO has shown that the roads need to be widened before we pass permits to additional buses. Moreover we want to bring down the accident rates which are increasing owing to rash and negligent driving by the city bus drivers," said the DC.
 
There have been persistent demands from the public for KSRTC bus service within the city for many years. In spite of announcements, assurances and deadlines, nothing materialized out of them. It is also said that the bus operators and associations challenged the grant of temporary permits as the violation of the 1992 notification.
 
The private bus operators had filed two writs in High Court in February this year against introduction of NURM buses. After both the writs were dismissed, the DK and Udupi Bus Operators and Canara Bus Operators’ Association later wrote a letter to Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu to drop the scheme. The Union Urban Development Ministry had sought an explanation from the State Transport Department and on the basis of this explanation the Union Ministry decided not to drop the scheme from the two districts.
 
Kamath, who further spoke on issuing KSRTC buses under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) service in the region stated that if granting permission was violation of 1992 rule then how the transport department still permits private buses to operate on route number 15 via Lalbagh. The 1992-93 notification had denied permission to allow passage of buses to central business district via Lalbagh. When the transport department could issue permits to private buses by violating the old notification why not to KSRTC? Several buses in the City are violating the DM notification of 1992, by entering the DM Notification zone. The bus operators take permits for plying outside the DM notification zone but clandestinely ply within the DM notification zone.
 
He further stated “If a bus has the capacity to carry 40 passengers, they are overloaded at peak hours, and carry passengers double the capacity.”
In contrast, speaking on the delay in implementing JnNURM scheme in Udupi and Mangalore region DC stated "Before we implement the scheme we would want to conduct a survey on total need of the buses. It is true that the government transport has been rendering satisfactory service in the region. But the State government wants to revamp the scheme and then implement it."

On relaxing DM’s notification of 1992, the Regional Transport Officer Afzal Ahmed Khan stated: “The DC has already reviewed the order thrice and has observed that there is no need of relaxing the rule. ”
 
Talking about the JnNURM scheme he stated “The government has agreed to provide fund to allocate buses under the scheme but it has not come on priority of Regional Transport Authority (RTA). The district officials concerned are not yet informed about the proposal of issuing government buses in the region.”
 
Every time there is an announcement about the KSRTC buses being introduced in Mangalore, the announcement sounds like a sarcasm. It has remained a mystery as to what stops the DC and the officials concerned from relaxing 1992 DM notification even when it is evident that several routes within the city need additional buses.