Chief Minister Siddaramaiah symbolically hands over 500th-crore ticket under the Shakti scheme, to a bus passenger, in Bengaluru on Monday. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy are seen.
Credit: DH PHOTO/RANJU P
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy symbolically handed over the 500th-crore ticket under the Shakti scheme to a 42-year-old factory worker at a public celebration on Monday.
The scheme, launched on June 11, 2023, provides free bus rides to women of Karnataka domicile. It has since recorded 500 crore free rides across Karnataka’s four state-run corporations — Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC).
Speaking at the event, Siddaramaiah said: “The Shakti Scheme was one of the five guarantees we had promised. Since the day it was launched, women across the state have been able to access bus services for free. Completing 500 crore free rides is a big feat.”
Besides symbolic tickets, the government also distributed GI-tagged Ilkal sarees and sweets to a bus full of women passengers. In return, the passengers gifted the ministers ‘kadak’ jowar rotti.
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Karnataka Pradesh Mahila Congress President Sowmya Reddy were also present at the event.
Under the Shakti Scheme, the daily passenger count on public buses across the state has increased from 85.84 lakh to 1.17 crore, according to the KSRTC. As of July 14, the total ticket value of the free rides provided under the Scheme has amounted to Rs 12,669 crore, and the total number of public buses across the state has risen to 26,130, from 23,948. A total of 2,828 old vehicles have been replaced.
Since 2023, the state government has approved the addition of 5,800 buses across the four corporations —5,049 of which have already received the green signal.
In the last two years, the government has initiated 10,000 recruitments across the four corporations.