Shakti scheme set to cross 500-crore ticket milestone today
Bengaluru: The Congress-led Karnataka government’s flagship Shakti scheme, which allows women to travel free of cost in government buses, is poised to achieve a remarkable milestone on Monday—500 crore rides since its launch in June last year.
To commemorate the occasion, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy will symbolically issue tickets to women passengers in a special event.
Launched on June 11, 2023, just weeks after the Congress party returned to power, Shakti was the first of the five major poll guarantees to be implemented. Since then, it has transformed public transport access for women across the state.
“There’s no parallel to this scheme anywhere in the world,” said Reddy, highlighting its scale and impact. He also announced that the government is moving forward with a plan to introduce smartcards for beneficiaries. The cards aim to prevent misuse, such as conductors allegedly issuing fake tickets to inflate ride counts, and improve transparency in public spending.
Reddy added that the proposal has been submitted to the Finance Department for approval and will soon be placed before the cabinet.
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M'luru: School physical education teacher’s body found under mysterious circumstances in well
Ullal: The body of a 51-year-old physical education teacher was found in a well at his residence in Kondana, under the limits of Kotekar town, on Friday evening.
The deceased has been identified as Prabhakar Jogi, who was serving as a physical education teacher at the Government School in Kallarakodi, Naringana village. Police suspect that he may have died by suicide, allegedly due to health-related issues.
According to police, Prabhakar had dropped his daughter at Uchila School earlier in the day for the school anniversary programme and returned home.
He was later preparing to attend the same event along with his wife and son, when he suddenly went missing. A search was launched by family members, following which his body was found in the well located at his house.
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Police said that Prabhakar Jogi was reportedly suffering from a neurological disorder. He had served in several schools across Ullal taluk and was actively involved in organisations of physical education teachers.
Ullal police visited the spot, conducted an inspection and sent the body for post-mortem examination.
In his complaint to the police, Prabhakar’s son, Sai Tejas, stated that his father had jumped into the well and that there was no suspicion surrounding the death.
Based on the complaint, a case has been registered and further investigation is underway.
