VIJAYAWADA: Despite vociferous protests against proposed closure of Gannavaram and Vuyyuru bus depots, Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation, Krishna region, is busy clearing the decks for winding up the two units.

The RTC depots at Gannavaram and Vuyyuru, being the units incurring maximum losses (in that order), officials are keen on phasing them out. The Gannavaram depot is currently incurring an annual loss of Rs. 1.75 crores, topping the list of loss-making units in the district. It has already been reduced to a satellite depot with downsizing of the staff and retention of just the garage and the traffic wing. The administration section has been merged in the Autonagar depot.

Gannavaram fleet

Sources in the RTC insist that closure of the unit is inevitable to curb the heavy losses. The Gannavaram depot, which comes under Vijayawada city division, has a fleet of 29 buses and of these, five are hired vehicles. Of the 29 buses, only nine cater to the needs of the local people, while the remaining 20 ply on routes that are not designated to the depot (In RTC parlance, they are called `unnatural routes').

Vuyyuru depot is second only to Gannavaram depot in terms of losses. It was in 1992 that the depot began to incur losses. Though the depot operated 80 buses a day at one point in time, the fleet of buses had to be diverted to routes that didn't come under this depot. This pushed the earnings of the depot to a corner. The depot currently operates 50 buses, of which almost 30 are run in routes designated to other depots.

The RTC incurred a loss of Rs. 1.9 crores in 2004-05 in Vuyyuru depot, while it was Rs 1.4 crores in 2005-06. Despite persistent losses, there is no scope for dilution of fixed costs, which include payment of salaries to the staff besides maintenance of the vehicles. Therefore, the RTC officials decided to close down the unit and merge the staff with other depots.

Series of agitations

Initiating the next step, the officials displayed on the notice board of the two depots a letter asking the workers to exercise their option for transfer to any of the nearby depots. Then, the workers resorted to a series of agitations at the depots urging the RTC management to withdraw the closure move.

"The earnings per kilometre (EPK) in Gannavaram depot has increased from Rs. 12 to Rs. 14.91. The closure decision is uncalled for and unilateral. We are trying to drum up support for the workers' cause," says P. Venkata Ratnam, State secretary of National Mazdoor Union (NMU). The NMU has been staging a series of protestsat the depots ever since the transfer issue was made public.

K.R. Anjaneyulu, regional secretary of APSRTC Employees Union (AITUC- affiliated) points out that the officials have failed to spell out a clear transfer policy, which is yet another cause for unrest among workers.

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