NWKRTC to be named after Rani Chennamma soon, says Minister Ramalinga Reddy

Ramalinga Reddy
| Photo Credit:
K. MURALI KUMAR

Minister for Transport Ramalinga Reddy has said steps would be taken soon to rename North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) as Kittur Rani Chennamma Transport Corporation.

He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating the 28th foundation day of NWKRTC, flagging of new buses and laying foundation stone for renovation work of the Belagavi-1st Depot.

The Minister issued appointment orders to the newly recruited employees and awarded silver medals to drivers for accident-free driving.

Mr. Reddy said that as per the announcement in the previous Budget, the procurement of 2,000 new buses was under way and of the 700 new buses for NWKRTC, 250 buses were now being dedicated to the public.

Mr. Reddy said that under PM e-Bus Seva Scheme, one hundred buses had been sanctioned to Belagavi. Utilising the internal resources of the transport corporation, 11 new city buses had been procured and put in to use. The process of procuring 14 air conditioned sleeper coach buses at a cost of ₹8 crore and 10 non-AC sleeper coach buses at a cost of ₹4 crore was under progress, he said.

The Minister promised to sanction 80 new buses for city transport and assured providing additional buses to Belagavi district, as it was the biggest district in the State.

Minister for Public Works Satish Jarkiholi demanded additional buses for Belagavi district. “During his previous and present tenure, Mr. Reddy has created a record by initiating steps to procure 7,800 new buses, filling up 9,000 posts and giving 1,000 appointments on compassionate grounds,” he said.

Earlier, Minister for Women and Child Development Laxmi Hebbalkar stressed the need for renaming the NWKRTC after Kittur Rani Chennamma and more buses for Belagavi district, particularly the Belagavi Rural Assembly segment.

NWKRTC Chairman Bharamagouda (Raju) Kage briefed about the new initiatives and urged the government to release the pending grants to the tune of ₹1,100 crore. He said that a proposal to rename the NWKRTC had been submitted to the government.

MLA Asif (Raju) Sait too demanded more buses for Belagavi urban areas. MLA Babasaheb Patil, Vittal Halagekar and host of other leaders and officials were present.

On the occasion, 68 drivers were awarded silver medals for accident-free driving, 188 candidates were given appointment orders, and cheques of compensation were disbursed.