NOW, FREE BUS RIDES FOR DELHI’S LABOUR FORCE

NEW DELHI: Over two years after making bus rides free for women in the national capital, the Delhi government on Wednesday launched a new scheme under which workers registered with the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (DBOCWWB) will be able to travel ticket-free on Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses and cluster buses.

Launching the scheme on Wednesday, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the labour portfolio, said workers registered with the DBOCWWB include not just construction workers, but also are skilled labourers such as electricians, carpenters, painters and plumbers, etc.

The scheme is expected to benefit an estimated 1.2 million such workers in Delhi and around a million of them are registered with the Board.

“In Delhi, only a few construction workers get accommodation near their work site and others have to travel to the site or labour chowk from the outskirts of the city. This comes at a heavy price — in the form of money they have to pay for travelling to work. To end these travel-related woes of construction workers, the Kejriwal government has launched a free bus travel pass scheme for them today. Now they will get free passes that will enable them to ride to work on DTC buses across the city,” Sisodia said. To make the travel free for workers registered with the Board, the cost of the pass will be borne by the DBOCWWB and paid to the DTC. Workers will be given a quarterly pass and the cost will be ₹2,400 per pass, which the Board will bear.