The Hindu

MANGALORE, May 28: The introduction of Volvo bus services to Manipal may take more time than what people have been made to believe.

Transport Minister R. Ashok has said, on a few occasions, that the proposal was only awaiting clearance from the Deputy Commissioner. G.T. Prabhakar Reddy, divisional transport officer of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) here, said his organisation had made an application to the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) a week ago seeking permission to run six Volvo buses to Manipal, as a “special case”.

That is because there is a notification in force, upheld by the Karnataka High Court, banning the operation of more buses from the State Bank terminus. The KSRTC is pinning its hopes on a study made by the National Institute of Technology - Karnataka, Surathkal, which stated that a few more buses could be permitted to operate from the State Bank terminus. Deputy Commissioner V. Ponnuraj told The Hindu that the RTA would act according to rules while processing the KSRTC application. It would have to give all parties involved a hearing and then pass an order. It would have to allow for further appeal as well, he said.