Pink tickets mark Shakti's 500cr ridership, CM plays conductor
Siddaramaiah
took on the role of a city bus conductor Monday, issuing pink tickets to mark the popular
Shakti scheme
crossing the 500-crore ridership milestone.
He was joined by his deputy DK Shivakumar,
transport minister Ramalinga Reddy
, other cabinet colleagues and chief secretary Shalini Rajneesh on the occasion.
As part of the event, the chief minister felicitated a woman passenger, Latha P, a resident of Chamarajpet who works in a bag factory, and gifted Ilkal sarees to nearly 30 commuters, including elderly citizens and students.
Members of Odala Dhwani, a self-help group that has benefited from the scheme, presented their products to the ministers in gratitude. The group, which brings homemade items like roti and holige from Vijayapura to sell in Bengaluru, credited the scheme with helping them expand their operations.
The chief minister explained how his administration implemented the scheme, while Shivakumar reiterated that all five guarantees of the state govt would continue despite criticism from opposition parties. "Women who commute daily to their workplaces by bus can save up to Rs 1,000 per month through this free travel facility," Shivakumar pointed out.
To provide
free bus travel for women
on ordinary and express services, the four road transport corporations have spent Rs 12,699 crore.
The RTCs claim their daily ridership has increased from over 85.8 lakh to nearly 1.8 crore since the scheme's introduction.
To meet the growing demand, the number of buses in operation has been increased from 23,948 to 26,130 over the past two years. However, while implementing the scheme, RTCs have faced criticism of overcrowding and bus shortages. Reddy said the govt has approved the induction of 5,800 buses, of which 5,049 have already been added to the fleets of the four RTCs. To address staff shortages, 6,700 appointments have been made, and an additional 1,000 people were recruited on compassionate grounds.
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