After the state government permitted the transportation of stranded people between districts, hundred of people that included stranded students and laborers gathered at the Karnataka State Road Transportation Corporation bus depot violating the social distancing norm.
When the announcement was made, it was communicated that the government would bear the cost of the travel but as soon as people reached the bus depot they found out that they are going to be charged a heavy sum. In the desperation to reach home and the chaos due to lack of communication from the government, hundreds of people in the bus depot violated the social distancing rule.
Initially, the people were supposed to be charged a two-way fare that made the laborers pay as much as 1000 rupees. Later, it was ordered that only one-way fare should be collected from the people. With no work for a month, laborers struggled to arrange money for a one-way fare. A woman waiting for the bus with luggage said,
“We are 30 of us going to Chithapur in Kalaburgi district. We are all daily wagers earning around 400 rupees a day. We haven’t had work for the last month and now have to pay 640 rupees per person to go home. We can at least work on the farms once we go home. Here, the lockdown has been extended for two more weeks. We don’t know what is going to happen.”
Even working professionals in the city who were waiting to return home rushed to the depot to secure a ticket to their home. One such professional of a private firm, Shivamurthy, said,
“My wife is in Shimoga. She is pregnant and alone. She had gone to her relative’s place for Ugadi, but they too stay far away for her home. It is getting difficult to get help. I wanted to go to be with her. But looking at this crowd, I have decided to stay back. The government could have handled the situation better.”
Congress Party donates 1 crore to KSRTC
The buses will be run with 50 percent capacity and the passengers will be screened before boarding the buses. People who reach their respective districts should mandatorily stay in institutional quarantine.
As the news of the heavy prices got into the internet, the leader of the opposition and the President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, DK Shivakumar reached the bus depot and inquired. Following his visit, he announced that the Congress party has donated 1 crore rupees to KSRTC and has urged the government to make the transport free for people. Within an hour, the state government announced that the commute for people will be free.
Source: Free Press Journal
