The impact of the coronavirus is being felt seriously by the state-owned Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC).
The state government barred the operations of the corporation ever since the lockdown was declared in the state. As a result, the corporation is losing Rs 3.5 crore in income every day.
The corporation has 10,400 buses spread across its 97 depots. Generally the corporation spends Rs 4.9 crore on diesel to run its buses every day, and transports 36 lakh people. All the buses have however now been confined to the depots due to the lockdown.
The TSRTC requires Rs 230 crore to pay the salaries of its employees every month. Given no income any more, the corporation is incurring more serious losses than normal.
It is however serving the police and the health department officials by picking them up from their residences to their places of work every day, and making its small contribution in the fight against Covid-19.