Members of Students' Federation of India (SFI) staged a protest in the city on Friday demanding that the government immediately direct the State-run road transport corporations to issue free bus passes to students in Karnataka.
The scheme was announced in the budget of previous Congress government, but has not been implemented by the corporations citing non-availability of funds.
After staging a protest in front of the head office of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) in Shantinagar, the protesters submitted a memorandum to the authorities.
V, Ambareesh, State president of the SFI, said, “We have also sought an extension of the kilometre-limit applied for student bus passes from the existing 60 km to 100 km for the benefit of rural students. In addition to this, some of the private bus operators in a few districts provide concessional bus passes to students, and the same should be extended to other districts. This will help students who depend on private buses in rural areas.”
The SFI plans to meet the transport minister to discuss the issue.