‘KKRTC is better in addressing passenger needs in State’

KKRTC Chairman Arun Kumar M.Y. Patil addressing media representatives at a press conference in Kalaburagi on Thursday.

The Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) is performing better than the other three State transport corporations by responding to passenger needs and addressing transport-related problems, chairman Arun Kumar M.Y. Patil said here on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference at the corporation’s office auditorium on the completion of his first year as chairman, Mr. Patil outlined the corporation’s achievements, ongoing development works and future plans.

He said that the State government has agreed to rebuild the Kalaburagi Central Bus Stand at an estimated cost of ₹58 crore.

A proposal to renovate the bus stand has been submitted during the previous Budget, following which the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah promised that the existing structure will be demolished and a new facility constructed.

A proposal has also been submitted to build a modern bus stand on four acres of land near the Ring Road in Kalaburagi. The tender process is under way for the construction of a new administrative office for the corporation at an estimated cost of ₹20 crore, he said.

“Work to develop a four acres bus stand premises at Wadi is also being taken up. At Afzalpur, the corporation is considering constructing a bus stand on the Mini Vidhana Soudha premises and developing a commercial complex or shopping mall on the site of the existing bus stand,” Mr. Patil said and added that the central bus stand in Vijayapura has been named after Veera Rani Kittur Chennamma.

Referring to the expansion of transport services, Mr. Patil said that women are travelling on buses happily under the State government’s Shakti scheme.

“To strengthen the corporation’s fleet, 142 city buses are being procured at a cost of ₹56 crore. In addition, 56 premium buses – 20 AC sleeper, 20 non-AC sleeper and 16 AC seater buses – are being purchased at a cost of ₹33.35 crore. Of these, 40 buses have already been inducted into service. A total of 600 new buses have been allocated to the corporation, including 400 in the 2025-26 Budget and another 200 in the 2026-27 Budget. The procurement process is under way,” Mr. Patil said and added that UPI payment facilities have been introduced on all electronic ticketing machines (ETMs) to make travelling more convenient for commuters.

“A new Mini Kalyana Ratha service has been introduced on routes connecting Vijayanagara, Ballari, Raichur and Kalaburagi. During the past year, bus connectivity has also been extended to six villages in Kalaburagi, Raichur and Yadgir districts that did not have any bus service previously,” he said.

On recruitment, Mr. Patil said that the selection process for 16 assistant accountant posts and 300 conductor posts has been completed in July 2026. “Recruitment for another 163 posts has been initiated. Jobs have also been provided on compassionate grounds to 55 eligible dependants of employees who died while in service,” he said.

The corporation has increased the internal group insurance compensation for employees from ₹10 lakh to ₹12.50 lakh. And, a total of ₹11.72 crore has been distributed as compensation to the dependants of 110 deceased employees, he said.

In a move to address the growing incidence of heart attacks and cancer among employees, the corporation organised cashless health screening camps for 4,440 staff members in association with the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, he said.