ENS

Bangalore, Jun 5: The increase in diesel prices, though inevitable, will increase the woes of the transport sector, which is already burdened with rising costs due to other factors.

KSRTC buses travel 20 lakh km, using four lakh litres of diesel daily. With an increase of Rs 3 per litre, they will have to bear an added expense of Rs 12 lakh per day, which translates to Rs 85 crore annually. The price of steel, used to construct buses, have doubled over the past few months.

"We are considering giving a proposal to the government to increase the price by at least 10 per cent on the existing ticket fare," KSRTC MD A P Joshi said.

Earlier, the BMTC received a discount of Rs 1.75 per litre from oil companies. This has now been withdrawn. A BMTC bus consumes at least 50 litres per day and there are around 5,000 buses plying in the city. "We have to bear a loss of Rs 45 crore," BMTC MD Upendra Tripathy said.

He said that the ticket fare hike would depend on the government. However, they have proposed a hike of at least 10 per cent more than three other corporations - KSRTC, NWRTC and NERTC.

Meanwhile, President of the Federation of Karnataka State Lorry Owners and Agents Association (FKSLOA) G R Shanmugappa said that the increase was expected, but the higher cost of diesel in Karnataka as opposed to other states was hurting them.

The group intends to submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister and the Governor to apprise them of their difficulties and seek a solution.