Bengaluru: One of the newly formed Congress government’s flagship schemes, the ‘Shakthi’ Yojana which came into effect earlier this week, has shown a very positive response. In the meantime, alongside people complaining about the crowding, reports also indicate that the ridership of men travelling in the state transport has also shown a steep surge.

Quoting notes of a number of urban mobility experts, The New Indian Express reported that there has been a sharp rise in the overall ridership of passengers including men who have to pay for their travel.

As per experts cited by the TNIE, they opined that there could be a possibility of two kinds of shifts following the launch of the Shakthi scheme. Firstly, the women who previously preferred other modes of transport, veered to the state transport. Subsequently after the implementation of the scheme there was a substantial surge in ridership in the form of euphoria towards the complimentary initiative.

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According to the TNIE report, the average daily ridership of BMTC stands at 27.34 lakh. However, data provided by the transport utility reveals that on June 12, the total ridership reached 34.94 lakh, with 17.57 lakh women passengers. On June 13, the ridership increased further to 40.17 lakh, including 20.57 lakh women. Similarly, on June 14, the total ridership was 33.44 lakh, with 16.85 lakh passengers being women, and on June 15, it reached 33.28 lakh, with 17.67 lakh women passengers. These figures indicate a rise in the number of male passengers.

Meanwhile, in a video released by a Twitter user named @shaandelhite , a KSRTC conductor was seen stating that “Because women are going out with family and so more men are travelling by bus. Earlier, it was 7-8k collections per day but now it is up to 16k per day,” he added.

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Mangaluru (Karnataka), May 14 (PTI): The Mangaluru City Crime Branch has arrested three men in connection with the murder of Hindutva activist Suhas Shetty, officials said on Wednesday.

The accused, identified as Azaruddin alias Azar alias Ajju (29), Abdul Khader alias Noufal (24) and Vamanjoor Noushad alias Chotte Noushad (39), were arrested during the last two days, they said.

With the fresh arrests, a total of 11 people have been arrested in connection with the murder so far, police said.

According to a police statement, Azaruddin had previously been booked in three theft cases registered at Panambur, Suratkal, and Mulki police stations. He allegedly provided information about Shetty's movements to the other accused, aiding in the murder.

Khader is said to have assisted the accused during their escape in a car after the murder was committed.

Noushad is accused of having conspired with the others and directly participated in the crime. He has six previous criminal cases, including murder, attempted murder, and robbery conspiracy, registered at various police stations in Dakshina Kannada, police said.

Azaruddin has been remanded in judicial custody, while Khader and Noushad have been taken into police custody for seven days for further investigation.

Police said the investigation is ongoing and efforts are underway to trace other accused involved in the case.

Shetty, a known rowdy sheeter and Hindutva activist, was murdered by a group on May 1 within the Bajpe police station limits in Mangaluru City.

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