Bengaluru: The period of free bus pass announced for the safe movement of the working class has ended on March 31, and in this background, hundreds of plumbers, carpenters and construction workers are waiting for the implementation of new government guarantees. Although the passes expired on March 31, they were not renewed. The workers said that although the validity of the passes has been extended, it will help save some money.
Purushottaman, a resident of Chalavadipalya, who works as a plumber, said that after registering his name through the labor department, he was given a free BMTC pass. I have been using the pass since August 2020. The pass expired in March. They expressed regret that the officials told them that they would not be given a free pass when they went for renewal, he said.
He added that despite the appeal of higher authorities in BMTC, no directives have been received from the Labour Department. He said that many fake workers are in this list. The project has been stopped for this reason, he said. Instead of weeding out fake beneficiaries in the scheme, they have completely stopped giving free passes. Now labourers like me are complaining that they are spending more than Rs. 50 per day on travel, he said.
BMTC officials said that they have suspended the free passes as no directives have come from the Labour Department.