The ambitious Vanitha Sangathai scheme introduced by the Karnataka Government to provide free bus passes to garment workers continues to receive a lukewarm response. Since the launch of the initiative this January, barely less than 200 garment workers have availed themselves of the passes.
When the initiative was launched, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) had estimated that 3 lakh workers in the city, working in 800 factories, would benefit from it.
But in the first month, it issued only 14 passes. In February, BMTC issued 38 passes, and mid-March another 129 garment workers had availed themselves of the passes. While the number of passes issued is steadily increasing, it represents but a small fraction of the garment industry workforce.
