Thiruvananthapuram: Salary revision of KSRTC employees has been approved by the government. Salary raised in discussions between the Chief Minister and Finance Minister. Minister of State for Transport Anthony Raju has said that the agreement has been approved by the government.

The order will be issued soon in this regard. From 2022, the minimum wage will be 23,000 rupees. The revised salary will be added to the January 2022 salary. Duty will be revised. The contract will be signed by the 31st of this month. Anthony Raju said that the increase in pension would be considered.

Kozhikode: Cholera has been confirmed within the limits of the Corporation. A 37-year-old man was diagnosed with the disease. He is being treated at a private hospital in Kozhikode. The hospital authorities said that the health condition was satisfactory.

He recently visited Chennai for work related to his wife’s job.  It was only after this that the symptoms of the disease were seen. Samples of water were collected from wells near the house. Immunizations were started by the Department of Health.

Alappuzha: Bird flu has been confirmed again in Kuttanad. It is reported that the ducks in Thakazhi panchayath, which was first diagnosed with the disease, will be slaughtered en masse. Thousands of ducks died of the disease in Thakazhi, Nedumudi, and Purakkad panchayats. Delay in test results has increased the prevalence of the disease. The ducks started dying en masse in Alappuzha a few weeks ago. It has now been confirmed that the cause of the disease is the H5N1 virus.

The disease has spread with the delay in getting test results from Bhopal. In Nedumudi panchayath alone, more than 8,000 ducks of three farmers have already died. The disease is spread through the air. The risk to humans is very low. An emergency meeting was held at the Collectorate and the ten-member team was deployed to kill the ducks.

Eleven panchayats have banned the transfer and transportation of ducks and other domestic birds. In the years 2014 and 2016, thousands of ducks died due to bird flu in Alappuzha. The ducks died of bird flu in January this year and bacterial infections in May. Farmers ’work towards the Christmas market is concerned with disease confirmation.

Peruvanthanam: Two persons were killed when a bus carrying pilgrims crashed into an Ayyappa group in Amalagiri. Both the deceased were from Andhra Pradesh. The bus rammed into the back of a parked traveler.

Both vehicles are used by pilgrims. The passengers were standing outside from the traveler after it collided with a car. The accident took place while the bus turned to avoid hitting the oncoming lorry.

Kochi: The bus owners’ joint strike committee has demanded an increase in the fare for students to Rs 6.
The bus owners also demanded that the minimum fare for other passengers be increased to Rs 12. If these are not accepted, the bus owners have decided to start an indefinite strike from the 21st of this month.

Earlier, private bus owners had demanded an increase in bus fares in the state. Following this, Transport Minister Antony Raju intervened and held discussions with the bus owners. The transport minister had assured the bus owners that a decision on raising the bus fare would be taken within two weeks.

But the bus owners’ union officials alleged that the minister did not keep his word. The minister said he would hold discussions with Justice Ramachandran Nair commission, who has learned about the bus fare hike, and representatives of student organizations. Lawrence Babu, chairman of the Bus Owners’ Joint Strike Committee, said no action had been taken in the case.

When the price of diesel was Rs 62 per liter, the minimum charge was fixed at Rs 8. At present, diesel costs Rs 92. Rs 30 increased. That is why there is a demand for a quick rate hike. The members of the strike committee also pointed out that the Justice Ramachandran Nair Commission had demanded that the minimum charge should be increased to Rs.10.

Following covid, KSRTC demanded higher rates for transporting children to and from schools. The government knows that it will cost a lot of money. However, officials said the government was not ready to increase rates.

More than 35000 private buses were in service in Kerala. But now it has dropped to 12,500. In covid’s scenario, the number of people boarding buses also decreased. In this case, it is not possible to move forward without a rate hike, officials said.

Neither students nor parents are opposed to raising fares. Opposition is only to student groups, the bus owners said.