Hyderabad: RTC faces challenge of maintaining buses in lockdown

Hyderabad: The TSRTC is now facing challenges of maintenance its buses as they are in verge of wear and tear as they are kept idle for so many days thanks to the lockdown.

The RTC buses are now kept on for one hour every couple of days to avoid rusting.

There are over 2,500 buses in the Greater Hyderabad Zone and many of the buses are confined to depots ever since the lockdown was announced on March 24.

According to sources, some of the buses were damaged even during the 55-days strike because of keeping them idle for so long and now after 35 days of lockdown the buses are on verge of getting damaged.

The battery discharges and tyres get flat if the vehicle is not put to use apart from the risk of engine getting jammed.

The cases are more in the diesel vehicles hence these buses should be operated regularly, according to the mechanical staff of the Corporation.

According to a senior official, the management has been running buses in the city but these are limited to transportation of the sanitation workers and other frontline warriors fighting coronavirus.

The official said that different buses are operated on different days. The buses are kept on for over an hour for every couple of days to make sure these do not get rusted. If the buses are not operated daily the battery gets discharged and the engine would not start when it is needed.

According to sources, the Greater Hyderabad Zone is losing Rs 3 crore every day because of lockdown. The official said that the Corporation is ready to operate buses whenever the lockdown is lifted. The buses would be operated by maintaining social distancing.

The buses operated in the city were being sanitized twice a day with sodium hypochlorite once before going out and second time after coming into the depot.