Costly bus fares - last straw for Karnataka migrant labourers in rush to go home

Thousands of migrant labourers seeking to go back to their hometowns within the state are forced to shell out three times the normal fare as district authorities and labour officials, who paid casual contract charges to KSRTC, have stopped the programme.

At the Kempegowda bus station in Majestic, labourers are trying to find persons travelling to the same destinations to hire the buses. Many are paying hard earned money, that they hoped to take home.

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KSRTC officials said that as per the social distancing protocol, they are allowing only 30 people in buses with 54 seats. “The price of a casual contract remains the same. It is upto the labourers to pool money and hire a bus. To ensure social distancing, we are not allowing more than 30 passengers in a bus,” a senior official said.

Hours before the Centre extended the lockdown to May 17 on Friday, Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, who holds the transport portfolio, held a video conference with KSRTC officials on the strict measures to be followed while resuming operations.

With the evening announcement, officials said they have to wait for some more days when clarity will emerge on operation of buses between districts. “We are waiting for protocols from the state government for operation of buses in red, green and orange zones. The labourers should wait for the next few days. If the corporation starts operating buses, then they can travel at affordable fares,” he said.

The senior official said that they would not be able to operate 2000 buses in Bengaluru and Mysuru districts as well as 1000 buses forn inter-state movement. “About 2000 schedules will remain cancelled as they touch ‘red zone’ districts. Ultimately, we may operate about 2500 schedules per day depending on the demand,” he added.

KSRTC will soon come up with a standard operating procedure which will provide clarity on whether buses will be operated from point to point or pick up passengers in between. As of now, the corporation has decided to restrict entry and exit in bus stations.