Private transport organisations in Bengaluru have declared that they will go on strike next Thursday, to protest against the Congress regime‘s Shakti scheme which they say is harming their business by providing free bus rides to women. The Federation of Karnataka State Private Transport Association said it had demanded that the scheme be extended to private operators as well, but the government did not comply.
“Around 30-35% private buses in Karnataka are not running right now. The private bus sector, which has eight lakh employees across the state, will soon have to start letting people go for want of business,” Chairman of the federation S Nataraj Sharma told ET. For a government which claims to want to end unemployment, he said, the regime seems to have no concern for the mostly under-educated thousands who are on the verge of losing their jobs here.
The program, which was one of the- party’s tall election promises that catapulted it to power in the assembly polls this year, will cost the exchequer INR 2,800 crore till March 2024. State transport corporations will receive around INR 311 crore per month to make up for the revenue shortfall for providing free rides.
The private transport organisations want to be included in the same scheme, said Sharma. “In the beginning, we assumed that the sheen of the free rides would wear off after a while. But we can see that it is not stopping; the number of women opting for free transport isn’t going down, even if the state transport buses are overcrowded and uncomfortable,” he said.
Private buses, autos and taxis have suffered around 40% fall in business ever since the Shakti scheme began, he added. “The scheme is affecting the tourist route as well, with taxis and 30-50 seater buses to pilgrimage places hardly getting any customers.”
The Congress regime launched the Shakti scheme on June 11, providing free bus rides to women in government buses across the state. Around 163.7 million women benefited under the program in the first month, costing the state about INR 401 crore in free tickets according to government data.
