BENGALURU: Mala, a 30-year-old farmer, and her infant travelled from Channarayapatna near Devanahalli to Kempegowda Bus Stand on Tuesday morning to visit a relative admitted in hospital. She said she travelled by a private Tempo Traveller (TT), and was charged her Rs 250 for her journey, which would otherwise have been completely free under the Shakti scheme.
She said she was forced to travel by the TT, given the uncertainty of bus availability. “According to news, there was a strike but a few buses were operational, and when I was waiting for the bus I couldn’t spot any.” Another woman in her late 70s, Lakshmamma, said, “This government is playing with our daily life by not acting according to the situation. Someone said there was a strike, some said there wasn’t, and now I have to take a private vehicle as I didn’t find any buses from HSR Layout and I don’t have that kind of money.”
There were also women who wanted to travel from Bengaluru to Ballari and Hassan, but when they learnt that they would have to pay up Rs 600 and Rs 400 respectively, they chose to return home and return when KSRTC buses were available.
Another woman who was on her way to Chikkamagaluru, when asked about the impact of the strike asked, “What strike and when did it start? I don’t know about that.”
While there were complaints about autorickshaws overcharging in areas where buses weren’t plying, quite contrarily, autorickshaws in Kempegowda Bus Stand had no customers at all. Sharan, an auto driver, was distressed. “Usually by 12pm, I would have made Rs 1000, but today I made just Rs 150.”
