NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — The so-called dead buses were parked throughout Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). The dead bus rally was initiated by the government authorities to make people aware what kind of damage they cause to public properties during protests.
@TOIBengaluru KSRTC is launching `Its my bus' campaign on Tuesday, with garment factory workers participating in the awareness campaign
— Aparajita Ray (@AparajitaRayTOI) 9 May 2016
The 'It's My Bus' campaign was the brainchild of the KSRTC's Managing Director Rajendra Kumar Kataria, who arranged for burnt vehicles to be displayed at major bus stations in the city.
"The constitution that gives us the right to agitate also specifies our duty. This bus is bought with public money. It is your bus, so we wanted people to remember this," said Kataria. The dead vehicles will be towed via the city's arterial roads to send a message to the common people.
The motivation for the campaign came from garment workers' protests in the city; the demonstrators had rallied against the government's pension plans. Up to 150 state-operated buses were damaged during their demonstrations and eight were burned. The recent protests cost the public budget about 150 million Indian rupees ($2.25 million) in total. Several artists and other public figures are also lending their hand in support of the campaign.
