BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s announced free travel on BMTC buses for women working in the organised sector. However, it has remained on paper. Bommai, in his budget speech, has said that Rs 1,000 crore will be allocated towards providing free bus passes to women working in the organised sector. The scheme was estimated to benefit around 30 lakh women.
After the budget, Bommai directed the BMTC to take steps to issue free passes to women soon so that they can travel for free from April 1. However, the significant scheme ahead of the polls is yet to be implemented.
“Every day, I travel from my home in Chamarajpet to my office in Koramangala. When the free bus pass was announced, I was excited because women like me have to spend a huge chunk of our earnings on conveyance. The free bus pass would have helped me and others like me to make substantial savings. However, there is no clarity on where to apply for the passes and what is the procedure,” said a woman working in a private company.
Earlier, when the BMTC offered free travel for all women on International Women’s Day on March 8, it received an overwhelming response. According to BMTC data, 21.97 lakh women availed the offer of free travel. The numbers exceeded BMTC’s expectation of 20 lakh. The total cost incurred by the government for the free travel was estimated to be over Rs 8 crore.
BMTC MD Sathyavathi did not respond to questions on the status of the scheme. However, an official from BMTC maintained that the passes may be issued only after the elections are over.