Thousands of home-bound migrant workers from different districts of Karnataka were stranded in the Majestic bus stand in Bengaluru on Saturday. Thousands of workers were left to fend for themselves, with the KSRTC deciding to suspend bus services for the day. The Majestic bus stand, in the heart of Bengaluru, which is in the Red Zone, saw a mockery of the social distancing norms, even as distraught passengers squatted on the platforms, famished.
KPCC chief D.K. Shivakumar and Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge, who rushed to the spot, said they were stunned as the place had turned chaotic and smacked of official apathy. The labour minister and the transport minister were conspicuous by their absence.
Most of the people had walked 10-20 kilometres to reach Majestic as there is no public transport owing to the lockdown. Several others had coughed up Rs 1,000 for autorickshaw. Girl students who had vacated their paying guest accommodation and hostels had nowhere to go for the night. When the transport officials insisted that there should be at least 30 passengers on a route to run the buses, the people themselves spoke to strangers and formed batches of 30. Many had waited since morning without food or water.
"I see there are at least 10,000 people stranded. I am ready to bear the cost of their tickets. My party will raise that fund. But the chief minister should intervene and ensure every migrant worker and stranded people are sent home. It is a small task and the government has miserably failed in working out the logistics," said Shivakumar.
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Earlier in the day, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa had directed the transport department to collect only one-way fare from the passengers. The department had fixed double fare citing the buses had to run on limited occupancy (30 passengers in the 55-seater bus) and that the buses would run empty on their way back.
The Congress leader sought to know why the 26 BJP MPs could not impress upon the Railways minister to run the free "Shramik trains" in Karnataka too. "At least six Shramik trains are plying in other states but why not in Karnataka? I don't see a single minister monitoring the situation here. The people have been taken for granted. The government operated free flights to bring back people home from abroad. The same government has brought the poor to the streets. Does the chief minister not have intelligence inputs to know what is happening here? Are the transport officials not reporting to him about the ground situation? This is injustice against the poor," charged Shivakumar, adding that even smaller states like Jharkhand and Telangana were doing a fantastic job.
"Why do you need power when you are shirking from your responsibilities?" mocked Shivakumar, demanding the government to arrange accommodation for the stranded people and provide security to women and children. He also urged NGOs to provide food packets.