A move by the State government — after a gap of eight years — to permit transfers within State-run transport corporations seems to have triggered an exodus from the city. Tired of living in the State capital facing traffic and stress, and longing to go back home, a whopping 10,217 employees of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) have applied for transfer till Sunday.
While officials say they are shocked by the sheer number of applications — which is close to one-third of the transport utility’s employees — a spurt in numbers was expected as the BMTC has a large number of employees coming from North Karnataka.
Faced with such an exodus, the BMTC is now considering seniority while approving transfers. Its overall staff strength is around 34,000. According to employees, while the pay is better in Bengaluru than in other locations, the stress of city life is a major reason many are seeking to return to their home towns.
“There have been a lot of requests this year and we will not be able to accommodate all of them. A mechanism of transfer by seniority will be worked out and we will try to approve as many as possible. Many BMTC employees hail from other parts of the State and are looking to go back,” said Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy.
