Bengaluru: As the election day approaches, there is a huge demand for mini buses, tempos and cars, and it is said that more than 6,000 vehicles have already been booked.
Thousands of labourers from Mandya’s Nagamangala, Chamarajanagara, Malenadu, Coastal and parts of Kalyana Karnataka and Central Karnataka have come and settled in the city for employment. As the polling will be held on May 10, the candidates of the respective constituencies are competing to woo the voters of their native.
All the workers are gathered in one group and booking of a minibus, tempo, and cars for them to come to the town has been done. A number of candidates have promised to visit the place of the workers and meet the travel expenses of bringing them to the town themselves.
One of the workers is given the responsibility of fetching the voters. They have to bring the workers of their respective towns and get the voting done and send them back. As polling will be held on May 10, they will be brought on May 9, a day before polling. Preparations have already been made to bring all the workers together.
There are 2,000 and 2,500 private buses that ply daily from Bengaluru to various districts of the state. Most of the buses ply to Malnadu, Coastal, and Central Karnataka parts. As there is an election, buses from neighbouring districts are being brought. The Transport Department also does not impose any conditions as the service is provided on a contract basis.
There is a possibility that additional buses will be plying by KSRTC on the polling day and in the days before and after that. A KSRTC driver manager says that there is a demand for more buses, especially for the North Karnataka region.
More than 12,000 taxis are serving in the city. Most taxis are already booked. The rest of the vehicles are expected to be used by political leaders on polling day.
Use of KSRTC bus for election work
KSRTC, and BMTC buses are being used to transport booth equipment to each village and polling booths. There are more than 8,000 polling booths in Bengaluru city district, and the polling staff will go to them on May 9. VVPAT and electronic voting machines will be taken and put up in the polling booths. Sources said that more than 3,000 buses are being used for this work