Thiruvananthapuram | The state transport corporation of Keralam, KSRTC, on Thursday said that Congress MLA from Koyilandy in Kozhikode district has become the first legislator to allocate money from his constituency development funds to purchase a bus for it.

KSRTC, in a Facebook post, said that Koyilandy legislator K Praveen Kumar allocated Rs 40 lakh from his MLA funds to purchase a bus for the transport corporation.

It said that it was the first time MLA funds were allocated for this purpose.

"The MLA submitted a proposal worth Rs 40 lakh for the new bus to Kozhikode District Collector M S Madhavikutty," it said.

The new bus is being procured to alleviate travel difficulties in the Koyilandy constituency and to further strengthen the public transport system, it added.

The MLA said that the route for the bus service would be decided later in consultation with public representatives.

KSRTC said that several other MLAs, including Transport Minister C P John, have expressed their willingness to purchase buses for KSRTC.

"Such people-centric initiatives aimed at improving travel facilities and extending KSRTC services to more areas will further strengthen the public transport sector," it said.

Till now, a Thrissur-based cooperative society, the Calicut City Service Cooperative Bank and a private individual have donated Rs 40 lakh each to purchase buses for KSRTC.