Unrest is brewing in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation with the managing director accusing employees of corruption and looting and the employees launching protests against it.

On Saturday, KSRTC Managing Director Biju Prabhakar alleged that the financial crisis of the corporation was mainly due to lack of commitment by employees and looting.

Some employees are carrying out parallel jobs like farming by keeping off from the work. Diesel looting from buses is also rampant, and hence the employees are opposing CNG buses, Prabhakar alleged at a press conference.

The corporation’s recent decision to float a new company to acquire new buses and restructure employees to revive the cash-strapped public sector unit is facing stiff resistance from the employees. This provoked the officer to come out in the open.

Immediately after the criticism, employees of the corporation, cutting across political affiliations, staged a protest against the MD in various parts of the state. Some unions have also called for a protest day observation on Monday.

CITU leader and Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem strongly flayed Prabhakar for making open allegations against employees. He said it was unfair to blame the employees for the loss of the corporation without any basis, he said.