'Private buses for sale': Owners, staff stage protest against 'Shakti scheme'

Owners and staff of private buses staged a protest in Tumakuru on Tuesday opposing the State government’s ‘Shakti scheme’ that provides free bus service to women in government buses.

The owners posted ‘private buses are on sale’ posters in front of the buses and demanded the State government to address their concerns.

Tumakuru district alone has more than 300 private bus services that provide connectivity to rural areas including Kunigal, Madhugiri and Pavagada from district headquarters.

The protestors charged that the ‘Shakti scheme’ will reduce their revenue by 50 per cent and sustaining the business will become impossible. “We will be left with only two options. Either stop providing service to the rural areas, where the KSRTC is unable to provide bus connectivity or sell our buses,” said District Private Owners’ Association President M S Shankarnarayan.

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The members of the association demanded the State government extend free travel for women in private buses also and reimburse the ticket to private bus owners. Or, the state government should reduce tax collection from the private bus owners, they said.

“Once in every three months, the government collects Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 from the private bus owners as taxes. We also pay other charges to the government, which is becoming a huge burden for us. And now with the introduction of the ‘Shakti Scheme’ our revenue will take a serious hit as women would prefer government buses over ours,” said Shankarnarayan.
He said the private bus owners, who were recovering from the Covid jolt, have been given another jolt by this government.

“Each bus provides a livelihood to 15 to 20 families. If this is snatched away from us, the government would be pushing hundreds of families to distress,” he said.