Karnataka: Government Distributes Sweets, Sarees as Shakti Scheme Crosses 500 Crore Ticket Mark

Karnataka celebrated the distribution of the 500th crore ticket under the Shakti scheme by offering sweets and sarees to women passengers. CM Siddaramaiah and ministers marked the milestone with a symbolic ticket ceremony in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Monday distributed sweets and sarees to the women passengers in the bus after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah handed over the symbolic 500th crore ticket to a woman under the Shakti scheme. 

Transport Minister Confirms Shakti Scheme Will “Continue 100  Percent”

State Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy assured that the scheme will continue in the future. 

"We started this scheme on 21 June, 2023. The 500th crore ticket was issued by the CM and the Dy CM too. We distributed sweets and sarees to the passengers too today... The scheme will continue 100 per cent..." Reddy told ANI. 

CM Siddaramaiah, Dy CM Shivakumar Distribute Tickets in Bengaluru

Earlier today, CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar distributed tickets to women passengers on the bus near Windsor Manor Bridge in Bengaluru. 

On this occasion, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, and several other dignitaries were present. 

Five guarantee schemes were announced during the 2023 Assembly election. The Shakti Yojana was launched on June 11 as per the decision taken in the Cabinet to implement it immediately after the government came into existence on May 20, 2023. 

The Chief Minister explained that since then, women in the state have been provided free travel facilities in government buses. 

Meanwhile, a row erupted in Karnataka over the inauguration of Kalasavalli-Ambargondlu Bridge in Shivamogga district between the state and Central government. 

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that neither he nor his office was consulted for the finalisation of inauguration event date of Kalasavalli-Ambargondlu Bridge in Shivamogga district by the Union Ministry. 

Siddaramaiah, Cabinet Boycott Gadkari’s Bridge Event in Protest

The Chief Minister further said that the official invitation was received merely three days prior to the event, to which his office responded about his prior commitment to a state-level inauguration and requested that the event be rescheduled. 

His remarks came after Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multiple key infrastructure projects, including the Kalasavalli-Ambargondlu Bridge in Shivamogga. 

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his cabinet colleagues, and Congress MLAs boycotted the event as a mark of protest after the CM's request to postpone the event on another date was rejected by the Centre.