Transport corporation renaming to cost ₹10 crore

HUBBALLI: The Karnataka government’s decision to rename the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) as the Kittur Rani Channamma Road Transport Corporation is expected to cost the organisation around ₹10 crore.

The expenditure will have to be met from the corporation’s internal resources. The renaming fulfils a long-standing demand raised by pro-Kannada activists over the past four to five years. In 2021, activists had urged the government to change the corporation’s name. Association president Raju Kage subsequently took up the demand and formally requested the government to consider the proposal.

At its board meeting in February 2025, the corporation passed a resolution and submitted a formal proposal to the government. After discussions over different names, the government finally approved the name Kittur Rani Channamma Road Transport Corporation.

Initially, the name Kittur Karnataka Road Transport Corporation was considered. However, its English abbreviation, KKRTC, was reportedly dropped over concerns about confusion with the existing KRTC. Other suggestions, including Rani Channamma Road Transport Corporation, were also discussed.

The complete renaming process is expected to take six to eight months. It will involve changing the name and logo on approximately 5,200 buses, 176 bus stands, nine divisional offices, 58 units, nine divisional workshops, two regional training institutes, the headquarters and a regional workshop.

Thousands of items, including bus tickets, waybills, official seals, files and registers, will also need to be replaced.

While the government has approved the long-pending demand, the financial burden of implementing the change has raised questions about the corporation’s expenditure and internal resources.