CASH-STRAPPED KDMT TOTTERS, YET OFFICIALS GO ON STUDY TOUR

KALYAN : Kalyan- Dombivli Municipal Transport (KDMT) officials and elected members will, in January, visit Bangalore and Mysore to study the public transport in place at both the cities.

KDMT officials said the study tour was aimed at getting ideas for reviving the struggling KDMT, but consumer activists are calling it a waste of money.

The study tour, slated for the second week of January, will cost the KDMT Rs6 lakh. The proposal was approved by the KDMT’s general body meeting on Thursday.

The KDMT was established in 1999 and began functioning in 2001.

Initially, it generated considerable income for the municipal body, but at present many buses cannot ply for lack of drivers and conductors.

The passenger count, which was 85,000 in 2011- 12, has declined to 45,000 in 2014-15.

Thirteen elected members of the KDMT and two officials will be a part of the tour.

“This is a planned event which takes place every year. It helps officials to learn about the transportation services in other cities, in order to compare our services with theirs,” said Devidas Tekale, KDMT general manager.

“All members have been demanding to go on a study tour. And the members are supposed to submit a report of the tour, based on which improvements are made to our services,” said Nitin Patil, KDMT chairman.

Rajendra Phadke, president of Kalyan Passengers’ Association, said the study tour is a waste of money. “There has been no specific output from such tours,” Phadke said. “They spend a huge amount and get a chance to visit places. Then, they come back and prepare a report for the sake of appearances.”

Phadke said the tours did not yield results. “Where is the implementation? The civic transport body should at least consider sending people who have knowledge about transportation issues, instead of sending the members and officials. After all, it the public money they are spending,” Phadke said.