The travel plans of tens of thousands of people from Kerala who are residing in Bengaluru to visit their home State during Onam have gone awry, with the Railway announcing just one weekend special train.
The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) too has not equipped itself to cater to the whopping demand, despite arraying new long-distance buses under KSRTC-Swift earlier this year. With Railway and KSRTC leaving commuters in the lurch, they have been left at the mercy of travel companies that operate approximately 300 private buses. Many of them have more than tripled the per-person fare to over ₹4,500.
The fear is rife that the one-way private bus fare would exceed ₹5,000 as Onam nears. Subsequently, many have dropped plans to travel to Kerala for the festive season.
