Karnataka CM’s gold medal for 60 accident-free RTC drivers
[ad_1]
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) turned 60 on August 1. The diamond jubilee is an important milestone for the corporation, but due to the pandemic, the management has decided to make celebrations a low-key affair.
Shivyogi C. Kalasad, MD, KSRTC, told The Puucho that 60 drivers from the four road transport corporations would receive the Chief Minister’s Gold Medal for accident-free driving.
“Due to restrictions to contain the pandemic, we have no big plans for celebrations. The Chief Minister will present the medal to some of the drivers from each corporation at a ceremonial function. Later, each corporation will present the medals to their respective drivers.”
Last time, the Chief Minister’s medal was presented in 2016. The official said that the corporation also had plans to release a commemorative volume narrating the progress of the KSRTC in the last six decades. Usually, the KSRTC inducts new buses on important occasions, but due to the pandemic, the cash-strapped corporation has postponed the plan of procuring new buses to the next financial year.
Museum plan
Meanwhile, in June, 2019, the Majestic bus stand — the transport hub of the city — completed 50 years of existence. The KSRTC had planned to build a museum on the premises of the bus stand to showcase the development of the KSRTC. However, the corporation is still buying time to implement the project on the lines of the Railway Museum. The Majestic bus stand was built on what was once Dharmambudhi lake. In 1969, the bus stand was opened for operations.
The journey
Under the provision of the Road Transport Corporation Act, 1950, on August 1, 1961, the then Mysore Government Road Transport Department (MGRTD) was converted into an independent corporation known as Mysore State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) with a bus fleet size of 1,518. In 1973, Mysore State was renamed Karnataka; hence, MSRTC became Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation.
In 1997-1998, two more corporations — Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation — were carved out of the KSRTC. In 2000, one more corporation, North Eastern Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC), was formed.
In July 2021, the NEKRTC was renamed Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation.
[ad_2]
