Old Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses are being repurposed as vegetable and fruit stalls. The Kerala State Horticultural Products Development Corporation (Horticorp) and the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation(KSRTC) have collaborated to transform disused buses into Horticorp outlets selling vegetables and fruits.
Two outlets will be constructed in the district in the first phase. The first location, set to open on Thursday, will be in East Fort, with the second in Kaniyapuram, according to Horticorp managing director J. Sajeev.
Depending on their success, more stores in conjunction with the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation(KSRTC) are likely to open.
Horticorp, founded in 1989, is an Agriculture Department organization responsible for procuring vegetables and fruits from farmers at a fair price and supplying them to consumers at reasonable prices.
They have a wide range of horticulture mandates, such as the production of Input components for quality improvement in horticulture, the distribution of genuine planting materials to agricultural producers, the advertising of primary produce of fruits and vegetables, the encouragement of apiculture (beekeeping) in the State, and the retail outlets of value-added horticulture products, among others.
Agriculture Minister P. Prasad will open the first Horticorp store on a 'recycled' KSRTC bus at East Fort on Thursday at 5.30 p.m. Antony Raju, Minister of Transport will preside. The first sale will be made by Mayor Arya Rajendran.
This is not the first time that decommissioned KSRTC buses have been transformed in this way. Milma has established a food truck as well as the Kudumbasree, Pink Cafes, in old buses.
