Bengaluru (Karnataka): Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Tuesday made it clear that bus travel will be free for all women in the state. "Bus travel will be free for women travellers across the state without any condition," Reddy said in a press conference at the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) headquarters in Shantinagar here.
The Minister said that a detailed report on how to implement free bus travel for women was ready and it would be submitted to Chief Minister Siddharamaih on Wednesday.
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The Minister held a meeting with top officials of the KSRTC, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) on the distribution of free bus passes to the women. He said women across the state can travel in the government buses for free. "In today's meeting, I discussed the pros and cons with the officials. We will submit the meeting report to state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The Chief Minister also said that he had a consultation with the Principal Secretary of the Transport department on Monday on the issue. I have also spoken to the CM, all the concerned secretaries and officials," he said, adding all the corporations have been given some guidelines.
The Minister said a decision in this regard will be taken in the Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Ahead of the recently-held Assembly elections in Karnataka, the Congress had announced that it would implement five guarantees after coming to power. Among the five guarantees, one was free travel in transport buses for all women. "So we will implement it. BPL and APL are not mentioned in the manifesto. All women will get free travel facility," the minister added.
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