Karnataka Students Protest for ‘Free Bus Passes’ as Promised by Previous Government

Students across Karnataka have been protesting against the JD(S)-Congress government, demanding Free Bus Passes for all students in the state. The Congress government of Siddaramaiah had announced in the previous budget that they would give free bus passes to all students in the state, from primary school to Post-graduation. Newsclick spoke to Mr. Gururaj, the Karnataka State Secretary of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), and he said that although students from SC/ST communities were being given bus passes at Rs.150 (per student per year) since last year (A Times of India report), for all other students the cost of bus passes remained at Rs.1,150 (per student per year). This is the reason behind the students’ agitation who are now demanding free bus passes for all students from primary school to Post-graduation.

Various student organisations have been mobilising students throughout the state, submitting their Memoranda to MLAs and the respective Deputy Commissioners of all districts. As per a report by The Hindu, Sharanu Gonvar, the District President of the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO), while addressing protesters outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad said, “The previous government had made a budgetary allocation of Rs.836.98 crores for issuing free bus passes to 19.60 lakh students. However, without disclosing this fact, the officials of the Transport Department had wrongly informed the (present) Chief Minister that they needed an additional Rs.700 crores to implement the scheme whereas they only need a small additional allocation amount for free bus passes.” Another report in The Hindu stated that under the aegis of the AIDSO and AIDYO (Youth Organisation), students from government schools and colleges also staged dharnas outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Belagavi, and at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel chowk in Kalaburagi.

Members of the district unit of SFI staged a protest outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Hassan demanding that the JD(S)-Congress government implement the assurance of the previous government in this regard, The Hindu reported. M. Asha, district secretary, SFI, said that the organisation had staged protests across the state in June and July last year with the same demands. Students and members of SFI protesting in Bangalore submitted a memorandum to the authorities at the head office of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). Mr. Gururaj further mentioned in his conversation with Newsclick, that the Director of KSRTC told them to wait till the second week of July for their demands to be met. Mr. Gururaj added that the students will wait till the assigned date and if their demands are still not met, SFI along with other students’ organisations, will protest in front of the Vidhan Sabha.

Students throughout the country have been at the forefront of protests and agitations for an affordable, efficient and good quality Public Transport System for the public in general and students in particular. In January this year, college and university students throughout the state of Tamil Nadu erupted in protest against the steep hike in bus fares. The government was forced to roll back 20% of the hike. Moreover, in February, students throughout Delhi protested against the successive hikes in the metro fare. Further, after years of struggle to get student bus passes for “Red” buses (Air-conditioned), in addition to “Green” and “Blue” buses for which bus passes had already been provided, the students of Delhi triumphed and the Delhi government conceded to their demands. In this respect, the current protest by students in Karnataka is the most recent instance amongst years of struggles for an affordable Public Transport, for students, workers, economically weaker sections, and the general public.