Impact of Shakti Yojana: 20% women stay away from train travel – Ground Report

Bengaluru, June 13: The Siddaramaiah government has implemented the ‘Shakti’ scheme to allow free bus travel for women in Karnataka state transport buses. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the much-hyped Shakti Yojana will give more impetus to women empowerment.

However, the Shakti Yojana has hurt major cities’ railways and high-end Volvo buses. Women are eager to travel across the state for free. Due to this, it has been noticed that there has been a decrease of 20% in the number of female passengers of trains, railway sources said.

For example, buses going from Mysore to Bangalore, Male Mahadeshwar Betta and other pilgrimage centers were seen to be crowded with women.

On the second day of Shakti Yojana, many Volvo buses had to wait for a long time to load passengers. However, KSRTC officials had to scramble to schedule additional regular buses for the women who came to the bus stands in droves.

Commenting on this to ‘New Indian Express’, KSRTC driver Ravi said that the Bangalore-MM Hills bus was overcrowded. It is said that many women were standing from Bangalore to Male Mahadeshwar Yatra Kendra.

Wedding goers and members of women’s self-help groups came on the trip with their luggage and Aadhaar cards. The project is said to have been a huge success as women came to go on the trip.

Trains between Mysore and Bangalore, including the Wodeyar Express, which was always packed as it covers the distance in just two hours, remained remarkably empty. Except for trains leaving the city early in the morning, it is crowded with office goers with season tickets. All other trains have managed to draw less number of passengers compared to the pre-Shakti scheme.