Hunsur: While the Congress Government’s ‘Shakti’ scheme, which provides free bus travel for women, has significantly increased the daily ridership of Karnataka’s four Road Transport Corporations by an average of 28 percent, it has created new challenges for students who rely on KSRTC buses for their commute.
The surge in ridership has resulted in overcrowding, particularly in city and sub-urban buses, with instances of buses carrying well over 100 to 110 passengers, exceeding their intended capacity.
This overcrowding has left no place for School children and it is a struggle for them to reach their Schools on time.
The problem is worsened by the limited number of KSRTC buses and some students were forced to dangerously stand on the bus footboard throughout their journey.
Women, who used to constitute only half of the passengers until recently, now occupy the entire bus and students are struggling to enter the crowded buses. All the buses are packed from 6 am to 9 am — the time when Schools and Colleges start — and from 3 pm to 6 pm — when schools close for the day. Buses are considerably free only from 10.30 am to 2.30 pm.
Due to unavailability of additional buses and other means of transport, most students reach their educational institutions beyond 9.45 am now and reach home after 8 pm, exhausted. Seeing their plight, parents have now requested the Government to provide separate bus facilities for School and College students.
There is hardly any space even for men though the Government had promised to reserve 50 percent of the seats to male passengers. Previously, a significant number of people, including women, used to travel in various vehicles such as taxis, vans, minivans and autos, primarily due to the convenience, time factor and lower fares. Women also used these vehicles to commute to private garment factories in Mysuru from many villages in Hunsur and K.R. Nagar.
Every day, over 3,500 women travel to Mysuru to work in various factories and garment units in Mysuru in over 100 vans, mini vans, modified autos and pick-up vehicles and each vehicle carries 20 to 30 passengers. They pay a nominal charge as the means of transport is convenient and they are at times picked up from the nearest stops from their homes.
Now all the women travellers have switched to KSRTC buses. During peak hours, say from 6 am to 9 am, there are only 8 to 10 buses (shuttle service) on the K.R. Nagar-Hunsur-Mysuru route and all the women climb them, jostling for space.
In the absence of women passengers, these vans, autos and pick-up vehicles are either running with only two or three male passengers or are parked on the roadsides in Hunsur. “Now husbands too have stopped giving rides to their wives as women have the option of free travel. This scheme has ruined our lives and we have vehicle loans to repay,” Siddu, a pick-up vehicle driver told Star of Mysore.
You all did dot think even once when you voted congress ,so don’t crib about inconvenience & unemployment for next five years
Women and girl students are very smart. They will occupy the seats at the back which are unofficially meant for men. This has been happening even before the Shakti scheme was implemented. In spite of seats being reserved for ladies, they occupy other unreserved seats as well. I have even noticed that some ladies deliberately come to the back portion of the bus in the hope getting seat out of sympathy from men. Another aspect I have noticed is that though ladies are aware of over crowding in bus they would occupy the back seats and when men jostle for space they unintendingly brush against female passengers. To this the women passengers would react as if men are deliberately trying to make unwanted advances towards them. I am saying all this from my own experience. It is high time men call out the hypocrisy and double standards of so-called feminists.
Perks over perks for our kannadian fellows, smiles will fade soon, that’s why policies of freebies is not good for any nation. People should understand the long terms impacts rather reaping short term benefits. There is always someone at losing end if others are winning.
@Sarathy
You are another of those besotted Narendra Modi, worshipping scoundrel, yes,, the person who deserted his wife , putting her into a life time of misery.
All your Modi did was to hide in a cave in 2021-2022, protecting himself from the Covid Pandemic, growing a long beard and resembling Osama Bil Laden, while the people in the country were dying in hundreds of thousands, afflicted with the Covid infection and could not get Oxygen supplies to breath, which Modi had, and denied to people in his reckless negligence.
Your BJP government of Karnataka followed the leader, and the Lingayat fat cabal who were in charge were getting treatments at the Manial Hospital in Bangalore, breathing enough of Ocxygen, where as the ordinary people died due to lack of it.
The women, who are selfish, should give room to the children. The best way to do this, is barring these women from travel during the school hours.
Indians lack discipline and are the worst kind of selfish humans today.
The district authorities like the DC, who instead of sitting cosily in the office should ask the KSRTC to get more buses, and stramline the travel schedules for children and the adults.
@Sarathy, the scoundrels like you woould rather have the 40% commission government. You are just a disgrace.
@Pramod
The false modesty of Indian women and the vicious attempts to touch them by Indian men are the issues. Indian women want to be treated as special humans, in which case they should stay home to cook and look after their children. When they emigrate to the West, they try this attitude, and resent men who sit on the seat next to them, but then shut up realising that they are no longer in India, the land of hypocrisy.
I live in the West and have women friendsand colleagues. They are so broadminded and have no false modesty that Indian women pretend. Indian men ofcourse are veritable villainous predators , when they see a young woman.
@questo …..followers of narendra modi are not scoundrals…you are a big time congress ass licking bastard…shameless ,visionles ,hopeless followers of dyanstic ccongress …bloody boot lickers……you call us scoundrals……you ppl will sell your mothers n sisters for power…..such is your ethics……….you call us scoundralls…..if you are able to comment non sense here….it is through the efforts of modi govt ….you got vaccine n alive…..bloody courtesy less bast.rd……………die of shame
KeralaSRTC has given a new order for the safety of women passengers that there should be an On Demand Stop for women passengers traveling between 10 pm and 6 am in all buses except minnaal category buses. Also to earn extra revenue they have started Courier and logistics services from Depot to Depot. They have also planned to allow buses to be booked for school and college trips.KarnatakaSRTC can follow suit.
The issue is clear, private bus operators suffer, even auto guys loose some business, now more women will travel for shopping, visiting friends and for other work. With out understanding the issue some ignorant are taking Modi and BJP name in this discussion, these guys have nothing to do but just bring Modi name into any issue, discussion, these guys are blind and don’t see what is happening around.
Every scheme has their plus and minus, every scheme will not work everyone but if majority are happy then it should be considered success .. loopholes should be worked over..stop fighting like Bjp and Congress agents… whoever in authority we should respect them as God chose them over us … whether it be Bjp in the centre or congress in the state… Let us work together and work for Indian Govt …Jai hind
Dole out freebies;win elections ; loot whatever possible; let junta go to hell for 5 years.
Seems to be THE ONLY political agenda now.
@ Venkat: It should be: “lose some business…”
@Royston: It should be: “Every scheme has its plus and minus, every scheme will not work for everyone”
Both of you are cases of very poor educational achievement, and you need to go back to school.
@Suresh You are ranting because you are not going to get these freebies? Grow up, and move on.
@Sanjay Kini
No point in citing what is done in Kerala or Maharashtra.
Karnataka has to tailor solutions to its needs.
If it is of any interest to you, the fastest growing immigrant population in Mysore has been from Kerala in recent years. Your MP Simha is committing narakiri, as his plan of Hassan-Kodagu-Kerala highway , will result in more Keralite influx into Mysore city. For Kerala politicians, Mysore city is considered as an extension of Kerala
If he does not lose his Lok Sabha seat next year, he will later lose it to a Keralite, as Kerala immigrants are in substantial numbers in Mysore city and Kodagu areas to make a significant diffrence to voting patterns.
Congress does not cre Teo hoots about children…..they have no votes
Women voted for Congress doe.free rides…..now their children suffer
Hey @Balu
You sound totally illiterate in the usage of English.
Your senteces such as: “Congress does not cre Teo hoots about children…”, “Women voted for Congress doe.free rides” , reveal the above fact.
If your mother tongue is Kannada, why not post in that language?
Despite Naredra Modi’s boasts, India has a massive number of illiterates and half-literates- a typical third world country!
@ Sarathy
What do you eat for your stomach ??? Senseless Guy. R u an educated illertate. Y take Modiji name for all stupid reasons. U may b born to Tippusultan stepny. How many fathers do u have.????
@ Sarathy.
R u an educated illiterate man??? What do u eat for stomach??? Beef ??? Your father from tippu sultan kandaan.??? How many dads u have. Your mom should b sleeping with many.
Why blame Modiji for all reasons???
The border areas of kalyana Karnataka are even worst…women occupy ksrtc buses and men prefer travelling in TSRTC buses which are crowdless