Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 5 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a protest at the Majestic bus terminal in Bengaluru on Thursday against the Congress-led Karnataka government’s decision to hike bus fares and milk prices.
As part of its statewide protest, a BJP delegation visited the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus terminals at Majestic, raising its objection to the increase in bus fares.
The All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), Karnataka State Committee, has strongly condemned the state government’s decision to hike bus fares and demanded its immediate withdrawal.
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, State Secretary K Somashekhar Yadagir said the hike is another anti-people burden imposed by the state government.
On the pretext that transport corporations are running at a loss, the state government has increased the bus fare of the three state transport corporations (KSRTC, NWKRTC, KKRTC) by 23 per cent and BMTC by 35 per cent, the statement said.
The trade union centre pointed out that just a few days ago, the government had increased the price of milk by Rs 4 per litre and curd by Rs 14 per litre, imposing a huge financial burden on the people, and now it has drawn another line of price hikes.
“Unemployment is rampant in the state. Jobs are being continuously lost. People are struggling for minimum income to sustain their livelihood. Along with this, over the last ten years, petrol and cooking gas costs have skyrocketed while people’s wages have collapsed to rock bottom. At the same time, prices of all essential commodities have skyrocketed. With this, both urban and rural working people are facing severe hardship. Due to drought, the life of people in rural areas has become even more miserable. In such a situation, it is condemnable that the government is imposing another economic burden on the common people by increasing bus travel fares,” the statement read.
The organisation argued that the losses in transport corporations are due to corruption in the government and corporations, leakages at various levels, and overall government policies, and these should be curbed, rather than transferring the financial burden of transport corporations onto passengers.
AIUTUC urged the state government to immediately withdraw the bus fare hike and called upon the working people of the state to build a massive public struggle across the state opposing this anti-people price hike.
Bus travel across Karnataka is set to become costlier, with the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) announcing an average fare hike of 23 per cent, while the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has increased ticket prices by 33 to 35 per cent. The revised fares will come into effect from tonight.
The fare revision will apply to ordinary and express bus services operated by KSRTC, as well as services under the North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC).
Under the revised fare structure, passengers travelling on ordinary services will see increases on several routes connecting Bengaluru with nearby towns. The fare from Bengaluru to Nelamangala and Hoskote will rise from Rs 35 to Rs 44, while journeys to Doddaballapura and Anekal will cost Rs 47 instead of Rs 38. (ANI)
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