Kozhikode: In place of ticketing machines, conductors of private buses in Kozhikode district carried plastic buckets on Thursday. Passengers, regardless of the ticket prices they had to pay, contributed generously to the initiative aimed at building homes for survivors of the July 30 landslides that devastated Mundakkai and Chooralmala in neighbouring Wayanad district.

Nearly 650 buses in the district participated in the fund collection jointly organised by District Bus Operators Association, Bus Operators Organisation and State Private Bus Operators Federation. The bus staff too worked for free on the day. It is understood that other private buses in the district will follow suit in the coming days.

District Collector Snehil Kumar Singh flagged off the drive at the Civil Station. Bus Operators Association District President KT Vasudevan and Secretary Beeran Koya were present. The Kerala State Private Bus Operators Federation is planning to build 25 houses for the landslide survivors. Earlier, the private buses raised Rs 3.15 crore for people affected by floods, of which Rs 33 lakh was collected from Kozhikode. They donated the amount to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund.