E-bus row sharpens capital politics

A dispute over control of Smart City electric buses in Thiruvananthapuram escalated into a pointed political exchange, with Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar and the city's newly elected mayor V V Rajesh trading claims over ownership, de ployment and accountability for the fleet.

- HD Bureau

The confrontation unfolded hours after the minister stated that the Smart City e-buses operating in the capital were not the exclusive property of the Thiruv an anthapuram Corporation, arguing that the project was conceived and funded through a wider institutional framework involving the state government and central schemes.

He maintained that decisions on routes, operations and utilisation could not be dictated unilaterally by the civic body and warned against what he described as attempts to "politicise public transport assets".