Karnataka: Amid 'crowding' row, Shakti free bus ride scheme for women crosses 500-crore ticket mark

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Monday, issued a pink ticket to women bus commuters to mark the 500-crore ticket milestone under the ‘Shakti’ scheme (free bus rides to women) launched on June 11, 2023.

 

‘Shakti’- one of the five poll guarantee schemes launched by the of the ruling Congress in Karnataka, has so far offered 500 crore rides to women commuters on state-owned buses under the four state-run transport corporations - Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC), with the ticket value of these rides amounting to Rs 12,594 crore.

 

“We had made five poll promises – guarantee schemes during the 2023 assembly elections. The Shakti Yojana was launched on June 11, immediately after the Congress government came to power,” said Siddaramaiah, who handed pink-coloured tickets (zero-value tickets) to the women commuters on a BMTC bus near Windsor Manor circle.

 

Fare-free buses for women is no longer a new concept as many states like Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Telangana and Maharashtra have implemented it as most women-oriented schemes have yielded rich political dividends. But what is new is perhaps the transformative nature of the scheme that has given new confidence to women, who are reclaiming public spaces for work and leisure.

 

Jampacked buses, temples and tourist places buzzing with enthusiastic crowds are only an indication to the growing mobility of women, who have traditionally had lesser access to education, workplace and leisure activities owing to their gendered roles as homemakers and caregivers.

 

Siddaramaiah has been defending the scheme as one that enhances women’s participation in the workforce and also boosts the economy. However, the scheme has also come under severe criticism not only from the opposition parties, but also senior Congress leaders, who failed to see the scheme’s scope and its social and economic impact on society.

 

Recently, senior Congress MLA and chairman of the Karnataka State Administrative Reforms Commission, R.V. Deshpande stated that there was “no space” for men, as women were “crowding” the government buses due to the free ticket scheme.

 

CM’s economic advisor Basavaraj Rayareddi also felt that the free schemes were burdening the exchequer.

 

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has opined that the eligibility criteria for the Shakti scheme need to be revised to limit it to genuine beneficiaries. He felt that many women who were taxpayers were also availing free bus travel.

 

The BJP leaders claimed that the 'Shakti' scheme had resulted in crowded buses, especially in the peak hours and that was affecting the office-goers and students. However, both the ruling party and opposition leaders have fallen short of criticising the government for failing to deploy adequate buses to cater to growing demand for state-run buses.

India