KSRTC's low-floor buses to be turned into classrooms in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram, May 17: Is the Kerala government planning to convert its derelict low floor buses into classrooms is a question that arises after state Transport Minister Antony Raju on Tuesday agreed to provide two low floor buses for that purpose to a government school in Manacaud here.
In an event held at the school, Raju said that two low floor KSRTC buses, which were meant to be scrapped, would be provided to the school for being converted into 2 to 4 classrooms.
"The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is your own and is meant for you," he added.
The state Transport Minister also joked that now no one should say that they only want low floor buses and not buildings to hold classes.
According to a statement filed by the KSRTC in the Kerala High Court recently, it has around 239 low floor rear-engine buses lying unused in its depots across the state.
All the 239 buses are more than nine years old and have run more than 5 lakh kilometers and therefore, the corporation has decided to scrap them, KSRTC told the court in response to a PIL which alleged that around 2,800 buses of the state transport authority were lying unused in various depots.
Refuting the allegation, KSRTC told the court that 1,736 buses were lying unused due to COVID-19 and of them 920 were earmarked for scrapping and the rest were to be utilised for service operations.
Presently, only around 455 buses were lying unused, it had told the court.
It remains to be seen whether the Transport department intends to recycle or convert all of them into classrooms or scrap them as it originally planned.
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16 workers injured in major fire at chemical factory in Gujarat's Bharuch
Jhagadia (Bharuch) (PTI): At least 16 workers were injured after a massive fire broke out at a chemical factory in Gujarat's Bharuch district on Thursday afternoon, officials said.
The blaze erupted around 1 pm at Metropolitan Eximchem Pvt Ltd, located in the Jhagadia Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) area, Deputy Superintendent of Police Ajay Meena said.
At least 16 workers suffered injuries and were admitted to nearby hospitals for treatment. No fatalities have been reported so far, he said.
Emergency response teams and local police personnel rushed to the site after being alerted about the incident. Fire tenders and ambulances are also stationed at the spot, Meena said.
Efforts to douse the fire are still underway, he added.
In addition to the fire brigade personnel from Jhagadia, two fire tenders from the disaster prevention and management centre in Ankleshwar were deployed to assist in controlling the blaze, an official added.
Visuals from the scene showed thick plumes of smoke billowing into the sky, visible from a considerable distance.
