The State-owned Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) diverted close to 100 buses to neighbouring Karnataka amid reports that they were used to ferry people to an election rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Kumta. All the buses made a beeline to Karnataka via the Polem check post late Tuesday night, even taking the Majali checkpost guards unawares.
The KTCL leased out the buses, and the corporation is expected to make a quick buck from this deal. But why keep Goans in the dark and cause inconvenience? The KTC Chairman Ulhas Tuenkar, who was personally present at Ankola, played down the movement of buses citing similar instances of the past, but it is disgraceful that he had no concern that this sudden decision has thrown the everyday lives of many Goans entirely out of gear. Thousands of people in Goa commute and rely on KTCL buses, especially along the State's interior and far-flung areas and the Margao-Karwar route. Ferrying people to the PM's rally may be a priority to the BJP, but it cannot come at the price of disrupting daily schedules and affecting people in Goa.
The argument of money being paid for the services pales out when trying to balance it against the consequences. The KTCL chairman must hang his head in shame if this was all about money. The point of contention is that no prior announcement was made, and a care-a-damn attitude prevailed.
There should have been either a Plan B or a prior announcement about the non-availability of buses along specific routes for a specified time. People, including senior citizens, children, families and office-goers, were stranded on roads, which could have been easily averted. It was only when this newspaper contacted the KTCL chairman did he inform that the buses would be back in Goa on Wednesday night.
The BJP has been fighting a raging battle for supremacy in Karnataka. A common sight has been senior leaders from Goa flying in and out of the State to campaign for party contenders and even impressing crowds with skills in the Kannada language. Moreover, the party facing a dilemma in the two States over the vexed Mhadei water-sharing issue has managed to pass a hurdle and BJP's sense of purpose in this election is firmly established, but that can't come in such ways.
The sad irony is that the people of Goa are either being ignored or taken for granted in this political play. Abruptly pulling out 100 KTCL buses is unacceptable, no matter the requirement, and this does not augur well for the discourse of last-mile connectivity. On the contrary, it sets a deplorable example of our public transport system.
The ordinary citizen who relies on these buses for their daily commute has to be respected at all costs. At a time when basic necessities like water and power have turned into luxuries of life after merciless breaches and blackouts, inconsistencies in an already shaky public transport system will only take the confidence of everyday citizens further down the road of despair.
