Thousands of stranded migrant workers in Bengaluru from different districts of Karnataka are finally heading home in buses operated by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). But the construction workers and migrant labourers are being forced to cough up exorbitant bus fares.
The passengers who walked several kilometres with their luggage to reach the Majestic bus station on Saturday, were heartbroken to find out the fares were more than double the normal rates. But the prices were slashed after opposition leaders slammed the government after media reports on the exorbitant fares.
Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa directed the KSRTC to reduce the fare and collect only one-way fare from the passengers.
The KSRTC had priced the tickets at Rs 39 per kilometre, as the buses could run on low occupancy--30 seats in a 55-seater bus owing to the need for social distancing. The cost was also calculated based on the two-way travel as the buses had to run empty on their way back.
Leader of the opposition, Siddaramaiah, reminded the government that the workers were out of work in the last 40 days. "The workers have no work or money left with them now. They are desperate to go home. But to charge double fare from them at this juncture is inhuman. The government should run free bus services," urged Siddaramaiah.
However, Transport minister Laxman Savadi ruled out free service citing the corporations were incurring losses. The transport minister said, "After a discussion with the CM and deputy chief minister, we have decided to collect only the one-way fare from the passenger. And the labour department will bear the return fare as buses would run empty on their way back."
Last week, the KSRTC had run 598 buses ferrying almost 16,000 migrant workers to their home districts--Bidar, Raichur and Koppal as the district administration had come forward to bear the expenses. But on May 1, the KSRTC started collecting fares from the passengers and it drew flak from the opposition leaders, media and the citizens alike.
The reduction in fare is not good enough considering the migrant workers have exhausted their savings, and are now hoping to travel along with their families. For instance, a worker traveling to Bidar, which is 700 km from Bengaluru had to cough up Rs 1,984 per head (two-way fare). And after the price slash, he will still be required to pay Rs 992. If a family of four were to travel the cost would become simply prohibitive.
According to transport officials, the high pricing of the tickets was inevitable as the corporation is already running under loss. The four transport corporations in the state recorded a revenue loss of Rs 816 crore till April due to the lockdown. The KSRTC alone suffered a loss of Rs 315 crore. The corporations also sought government support to pay the salaries of their employees for April.
The lack of foresight and planning in the transport department is evident not only from the ruthless pricing of the ticket but the lack of transport facilities for the migrants to reach the bus station from across the city to begin with (which lead to crowding), followed by the 30-persons rule that resulted in people having to wait for long hours before the bus got filled up (30 members). However, the authorities have been testing the passengers on board and on arrival, they will be quarantined at the district headquarters for two weeks before they can go home.
For the distraught migrants workers waiting to be reunited with their families in their home districts, it is a long way home. And this journey sure comes at a cost.
