Kerala— Keralites share in common, a deep emotional bond with their buses. As a popular dialogue from a movie goes, "one must travel in a KSRTC bus to truly be considered a Keralite." So it is quite natural that when a picture of a KSRTC bus conductor, that too, a woman working without salary, goes around the social media, public emotions are evoked.

This image of a lady conductor employed by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, brandishing a sign indicating that she has gone without pay for 41 days, has circulated extensively on the internet. Many users have noted that this is a reflection of the dire circumstances in Kerala, which is governed by a communist regime.

Salary disbursement not timely

There have been remarks on the social media that the KSRTC has been unwilling to disburse salaries in a timely manner. However, when The Mooknayak approached the KSRTC Chairman & Managing Director IAS Biju Prabhakar, he said that there are no salary dues. "We pay salary around 10th of every month. Govt assistance is needed to fill the gap. Even govt employees get salary on different days. When the salary has been paid 10th of the previous month, how can it be 41 days? Its all political" he said. The officer also said that apart from the salary, the management has also cleared their 30 cr against GIS, LIC premium last month.

KSRTC have been facing severe cash crunch for years, mainly due to the large amount required to make pension payments. Huge non operating expenditure has affected it's financial liabilities. In August last, the Kerala High Court had directed the government to provide funds to the corporation to enable salary disbursements to its employees. The Mooknayak multiple attempts to connect with the office bearers of the KSRTC employees association were unsuccessful.

Oldest State run transport services

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is one of the oldest state run transport services in the country, with a significant number of dedicated fan pages on Instagram. The corporation has over 6 thousand buses in its fleet and these elephant carts evoke feelings of nostalgia for many, while others relish the opportunity to frequently travel by them. The buses are an integral aspect of the cultural identity of Keralites. The corporation even fought a long legal battle with neighbour Karnataka for the KSRTC brand. Kerala won the trademark battle against Karnataka and the right for the sole use of the acronym KSRTC for its fleet.