‘Women Enjoy Your Free Bus Ride-It’s Congress Party Gift To You’ – Minister Gundu Rao Flags Off Shakti Scheme
- ‘Women Enjoy Your Free Bus Ride on KSRTC -It’s Congress Party Gift To You’- State Minister & District Minister-In-Charge of DK Gundu Rao, while launching Off the ‘SHAKTI ‘ Scheme, one of the Five beneficiaries/Guarantees promised by the Congress Government after winning the Assembly elections.
Mangaluru: Minister for Health & Family Welfare and also the District Minister In-charge of Dakshina Kannada, Dinesh Gundu Rao, flagged off free bus travel for women under Shakti Scheme at the KSRTC Bus Stand, Bejai here, on 11 June 2023. The programme began with invoking God’s blessings through a prayer song, followed by a welcome address by KSRTC Divisional Controller Rajesh Shetty who gave elaborate details of the Shakti Scheme of Free Travel for Women on KSRTC Buses starting on 11 June 2023.
Rajesh Shetty said, “Mangaluru Division operates 303 buses, including 51 city, 104 ordinaries, and 148 express, doing 509, 576, and 303 trips respectively every day. Women in DK and Udupi can avail of free travel facilities on 644 KSRTC buses from 11 June 2023. The Puttur Division operates 341 buses (222 ordinaries and 119 express) doing 1,716 and 262 trips every day”, said a communique from KSRTC. Besides these, NWKRTC and KKRTC operate 120 trips of express and 181 trips of ordinary services from Mangaluru. The scheme is applicable to women and sexual minorities, including girls, of Karnataka domicile to travel without any limit of the distance across Karnataka on all ordinary and express services of KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC, and Kalyana Karnataka RTC”
“The facility is not available on premium services—Rajahamsa and above classes. Advance reservations can be made through www.ksrtc.in or KSRTC booking counters for travel under this scheme. Women have to carry any one of the following ID proofs in original or through DigiLocker to claim the free travel facility to prove that they are residents of Karnataka—Aadhaar, Electoral Photo Identity (EPIC) card, driving licence, ID cards containing their residential address issued by any central or State government department or public sector undertaking and ID card issued by the department for the welfare of the disabled”, added Rajesh Shetty.
Addressing the gathering, Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said, “This is my first visit to Dakshina Kannada after becoming the minister and I feel proud to flag off the Shakti Scheme today. Our government had announced five guarantees before the elections and promised to approve them in the first cabinet meeting. The Shakti scheme is one of the five guarantees. We have fulfilled our promise and in the first cabinet meeting our CM Siddaramaiah has announced the historic decision to implement all the five guarantees”.
Minister further said, “In 2013, when the Congress government came to power, we fulfilled all the promises we made before the elections. In 2013, Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister and he had fulfilled all the promises, even the loans under various schemes for the poor were also waived. Now for the second time, when Siddaramaiah has become the CM, he announced the approval of all five guarantees in the first cabinet meeting. It is not a small decision. In the history of Karnataka, no government has taken such a decision in the first cabinet meeting. Taking such a decision and fulfilling it needs commitment, courage and morality” added Gundu Rao.
Minister also said, “Today we have implemented the first scheme “Shakti” free travel for women in government buses. Our aim is equality for women in society. The Shakti Scheme will benefit Women who go to work travelling every day by bus. They will be able to save their transport charges through this scheme. Most of the women go to the temples and also have the desire to go to Holy places in the state, such women can fulfil their desire by travelling free of cost to Holy places in the state under the Shakti scheme. MLA of Mangaluru South Constituency Vedavyas Kamath did not attend the flag-off programme of the Shakti Scheme, thinking that he will have to praise this scheme if he attends. This is a government programme and people from all walks of life will benefit from it.
“MLA of Mangaluru South Constituency Vedavyas Kamath did not attend the flag-off programme of the Shakti Scheme, thinking that he will have to praise this scheme if he attends. This is a government programme and people from all walks of life will benefit from it”, said Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean 58-year-old Nagarathna KR said, “I am extremely grateful to the new Congress government headed by CM Siddaramaiah for coming out with this scheme in providing free travel on all KSRTC run buses. Being a mother of two and incurring a heavy expense monthly, this offer by the new state government is very helpful. Working in a government firm in Mangaluru, and travelling back and forth between Mangaluru and Bantwal, this gift from CM and his team will help me in a big way to cut down my expenses monthly. My sincere thanks to the newly formed Congress government in the state”.
Shalini Kumar, aged 48 from Farangipet travelling daily between Farangipet and Mangaluru and working at an IT firm in the City said, “I am a hardcore BJP fan whom I voted for that part last time, but disappointed with their governance and corruption, I cast my vote in favour of Congress for a change. I appreciate the five benefits introduced by the Congress government, and the Shakti scheme is very much helpful, thereby cutting down my expenses daily, where I had to spend a few bucks on travel between my home and office. I am very grateful to CM Siddaramaiah and his team for their kind gesture”.
Women seated on the buses after the scheme was launched were very happy to avail of of Free travel, where some were even travelling to Mysuru, Bengaluru, Davangere and other places, and they had nothing to shell out from their purses. Dakshina Kannada DC Ravikumar M R, ZP CEO Dr Kumar, Police Commissioner Kuldeep Kumar Jain, SP Rishyanth, MCC Commissioner Channabasappa, ADC Krishnamurthy, former MLC Ivan D’Souza, Former MLA J R Lobo, Former MCC Mayot Ms Kavitha Sanil, Corporators Naveen D’Souza, Lancelot Pinto, A C Vinayaraj, and also Congress leaders Ms Prathiba Kulai, Ms Shalet, among others, were present during the launching ceremony.
