Bengaluru
The ‘Shakti’ scheme, which offers women free travel in non-premium services offered by the State–run Road Transport Corporations (RTCs), met the estimated target of beneficiaries on Monday, the first weekday the scheme was operational for. A total of 41.34 lakh women travelled free in RTC buses on the day. This cost the State exchequer ₹8.84 crore, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation said in a statement.
Earlier, the RTCs had estimated that around 41.81 lakh women (including 11.58 lakh pass holders) will benefit from the scheme. Meanwhile, according to KSRTC officials the scheme would cost the government at least ₹3,400 crore annually if the daily numbers stay in this form.