Free ride, free spirit: What Shakti scheme means to women in Karnataka

Women in Karnataka benefit from free bus travel under the Shakti scheme, saving money & gaining freedom. Kamalabai, Neelamma, Shwetha & Marakka all share their experiences, while some are skeptical & others worry about the toll on the exchequer. Despite shortcomings, the scheme is a success.

Clutching a copy of her Aadhaar card, Parvathamma was waiting for the conductor to issue her a free ticket on a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus in Shivamogga town in south Karnataka. She was travelling to Holalkere in Chitradurga district in central Karnataka.

“The journey would have cost me ₹70. Now I travel free,” said a visibly elated Parvathamma, in her 70s. With the money saved, “I spend on some betel leaves and snacks for the journey.”

At Bengaluru, Kausar and her group of 10 women, all from the same family, were at the KSRTC bus terminal in Majestic, waiting for their changeover bus to Mysuru. They had just returned from their first women-only trip to Murugamalla Dargah in Chintamani in Kolar district. She said the group saved ₹2,000-₹3,000 on the trip as they did not have to spend on tickets. They plan to go on more such trips.

Over 78 crore women passengers have availed themselves of the Siddaramaiah-led government’s flagship Shakti scheme, which provides free bus travel to women of Karnataka domicile on non-luxury buses of the State-run Road Transport Corporation. Four months since the implementation of the scheme, beneficiaries talk about their experiences.

Kamalabai, a 50-year-old Lambani woman from Sonth Puru Tanda, travels around 50 km daily to reach Kalaburagi in the Kalyana Karnataka region in search of work, just like hundreds of people from her hamlet. Since there is no direct bus facility, she takes a shared three-wheeler to reach Kamalapur, which is around 16 km from her settlement, paying ₹30. From Kamalapur, she takes a public transport bus operated by the State-owned Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) to reach Kalaburagi, which would have cost her ₹30 more if not for Shakti.

“I travel daily. I normally get work for 20 days in a month. Before the introduction of the Shakti scheme, I spent ₹120 daily on travel. It is a big amount for a person who gets just ₹450 daily. It was worse when I didn’t get work on a particular day as I had to spend the travel expenses from my pocket,” said Kamalabai. She said the number of people who travelled searching for work has increased since the introduction of Shakti.

The scheme means different things to different women. For the majority, Shakti is a means to save small amounts of money; for some, it is a gateway to travel and exploration across the State; for others, it is an expression of freedom. However, a small number are sceptical.