BENGALURU:
Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Sunday announced that migrants travelling to any part of the state can do so free of cost and without any hassles.Â
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporations (KSRTC) will provide free travel for all labourers and those who wish to return to their home towns during the lockdown period. The CM’s announcement came after the BJP government faced flak from the opposition parties for charging double the fare from migrants stranded in Bengaluru.Â
On Saturday it was reported that KSRTC was charging the hefty amounts to migrants wanting to travel back to their home towns. The fares for end-to-end non-AC buses to Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Dharwad and Udupi were increased to Rs 1,619, Rs 1,509, Rs 1,239 and Rs 1,110 respectively. Later, it was decided to charge only single fares.Â
After the CM’s intervention, free travel facilities will be available for the next three days, starting from Sunday. The buses used for ferrying the workers will be sanitised and social distancing norms will be maintained. To avoid mass gatherings, KSRTC has decided to operate buses from the BMTC bus stand (Majestic) to all districts except Red Zones between 10 am and 6 pm on Monday.
In a related development on Sunday, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee announced it had given a Rs 1 crore cheque to KSRTC for ensuring free transport for poor migrants. But KSRTC sources said it had not received any cheque from any individual or party.
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