No proposal to revisit 'Shakti' free bus travel scheme for women: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said there is no proposal before the government to revisit the 'Shakti' scheme, which provides free bus travel for all women domiciled in the state.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had on Wednesday indicated about revisiting the Shakti scheme.
"There is no such proposal before the government, he (Shivakumar) only said what some women are saying. I don't know, I was not there. I will speak...." Siddaramaiah said in response to a question regarding the Deputy CM's statement.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "there is no situation for revisiting it at the government level. There is no such intention, there is no such proposal."
Noting that many women had tweeted and emailed him about their willingness to pay for travel, and that they don’t want free ride, Shivakumar, addressing an event, had said: "let's see, we will all sit and discuss it. They are a section (of women), they may be 5-10 per cent. Let's see, some have honestly expressed they are ready to pay. Ramalinga Reddy (Transport Minister) and I -- we will discuss in the government, what to do."
Shakti is one of the five guarantee schemes rolled out by the Congress government after coming to power last year.
It was launched on June 11, 2023 within a month of the government assuming office.
As on October 18, 2024, the state spent Rs 7,507.35 crore on the Shakti scheme for the 311.07 crore free rides by the women.
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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
