Imagine a driver jumping out to save himself when his car with no brakes is coming down a steep slope. The situation in KSRTC is almost the same now. The state's largest public sector organization has been begging the government every month for not being able to pay salaries and pensions on time. The organization has been in dire financial straits for quite a while now. This has been the situation at KSRTC ever since mismanagement started to reign supreme. The explanatory statement released by Corporation CMD Biju Prabhakar through a Facebook post two days ago states that none of the measures tried so far to recover the institution were effective. Fed up with the way the corporation is running, he is preparing to step down.

As usual, the top brass in the government has not yet responded to the matters presented to the public by the head of the institution. The Finance Minister says that the CMD's Facebook explanation was not noticed. The Transport Minister also says that he has no knowledge of the information about CMD's withdrawal from the post. The plight of the Transport Corporation today consists of statements that the concerned ministers and the government do not know what the entire state knows. Biju Prabhakar told the Chief Secretary that he is not the person to carry the Transport Corporation further in this manner. He plans to take leave if he is not allowed to step down. Such transfers are common in the Corporation but it is unique that the current head is preparing to vacate the chair after taking some of the most important issues that the government needs to answer before the public.

Biju Prabhakar's allegation that the government has no interest in rescuing KSRTC from the present crisis needs to be answered by the government. The CMD's opinion that many schemes have been formulated from time to time which are sufficient for the corporation to stand on its own feet and if they had been properly implemented then the current situation would not have happened, is also significant. The government backed away from several crucial reform measures and succumbed to the opposition of the unions. Unions are not interested in any reform measures which will help with the survival of KSRTC. How can progress be made as long as an environment exists where the head of the institution is seen as the arch-enemy? Even when the salary is delayed, the income is not increasing. The revelation that 1200 buses are in an unroadworthy condition gives a rough picture of the financial condition of the corporation. Earlier, 33 lakh passengers used to travel in transport buses daily. It has reduced to 20 lakhs now, says the head of the institution. The income cannot reach even 200 crores and the expenditure is very high. The government had assured to provide Rs 50 crore per month to fill this gap but not getting it on time is the reason why the salary is delayed indefinitely every month. If no action is taken to settle the other liabilities of the corporation, the debt will continue to mount. The corporation has already become defunct. Unless the government takes bold reform measures, this huge institution will become an irretrievably huge liability.