Minister for Small Scale Industries and Public Enterprises Sharanabasappa Darshanapur and Minister for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil flagged off the Shakti project that allows women to travel free in government-owned buses in Yadgir and Raichur, respectively, on Sunday.
Both the Ministers issued zero tickets to women passengers travelling in government buses to mark the launch of the project.
In Yadgir, Mr. Darshanapur, who is also district in-charge Minister, issued a zero ticket to Deputy Commissioner R. Snehal, to travel from Yadgir to Shahapur.
After the launch of the scheme in their respective districts, the two Ministers said that the Congress, which promised five guarantees before the Assembly elections to ensure economic well-being of the people of the State, is committed to implementing them.
“We have implemented the Shakti project which allows women passengers to travel free in government-owned common and express buses within the State. And, we will implement the remaining four guarantees shortly,” they added.
Preventive custody
Meanwhile, in Raichur, the police took several protesters from the Raichur Citizens Forum into preventive custody when they staged a ”Go Back” protest against Dr. Patil who is the district in-charge Minister there.
After his arrival in Raichur, Dr. Patil interacted with leaders of the horata samiti set up for having the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) in Raichur.
While the leaders staged a protest near the Gandhi Circle, the Minister told them that he had only replied to questions from the media in Kalaburagi that the proposal for upgrading ESI Hospital into AIIMS was rejected by the previous government and that the AIIMS will be brought to Kalyan Karnataka Region, without mentioning Kalaburagi.
He further clarified that the matter of bringing AIIMS to Raichur is part of the Congress manifosto and the government will adhere to it.
It may be recalled that several organisations recently staged protests demanding AIIMS for Raichur and not Kalaburagi.
