Karnataka state-run bus player gets diesel on heavy discount

Bengaluru: Daily revision of diesel prices has had an adverse impact on the revenues of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) followed by the lockdown for four months due to Covid-19 outbreak in the state.

But now the state-run transport corporation has breathing space after getting the diesel on discount. The oil company has come forward to supply oil with a 40 per cent discount which corporation can save up to rupees Rs 200 crore. In the recent past, the state had asked fuel supplier Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) to increase it's discount for bulk purchase of diesel, as the KSRTC and the BMTC are procuring HSD (High-Speed Diesel) from Bengaluru, Bengaluru News, Karnataka, Karnataka News (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd) and was getting Rs 2,200 per KL as a discount for both the state run transport corporations. But now the tender for BPCL was ended and new tender for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is in place and HPCL has agreed to supply diesel for 40 per cent discount.

"Four months of suspension of bus services has led to heavy monetary loss to the state-run transport services. We requested for a better discount on par with the discount and credit offered by the BPCL. Otherwise, we will have to look for alternate solutions such as open tender. But with the oil company offering good discount, we will save up to Rs 200 crore each year," said KSRTC senior official.

The discount from new supplier HPCL will be around 40 per cent which translates into anywhere between 3,400 to 4,700 per kilo litre as discount for all state transports corporations.

Karnataka has around 20,000 buses, including all four state-run transport corporation (KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC, NEKRTC). Approximately, 1,600 KL diesel will be used every day.