THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was a ten-year demand of KSRTC to regulate student concession. Only now has the government approved the demand that has been made since 2013.

The proposal that free travel is sufficient only for those who are economically backward was raised in a discussion between Minister Antony Raju and Justice Ramachandran Commission on 14 December 2021.

In 2016, free transportation for students up to Plus Two was announced by Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, who served as the transport minister during the final term of the UDF government. This has been giving KSRTC a liability of Rs 130 crores a year. Moreover, free passengers travelled in KSRTC while others depended on private buses.

KSRTC informed the government that it has a monthly liability of Rs 28.5 crore due to free travel of those, including students. That is 342 crore rupees per annum. KSRTC has not received any government assistance to meet this additional liability.

Meanwhile, KSU staged protests across the state yesterday against the new decision. The police arrested and removed the activists who besieged the chief office in East Fort, Thiruvananthapuram and those who barged into the Kollam district transport office. KSU activists who marched to the Kozhikode KSRTC Terminal burnt the effigy of Minister Antony Raju.