Siddaramaiah promises new electric buses for Bengaluru, extols his govt's welfare schemes

BENGALURU: On Tuesday, according to a report by PTI, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made the promise that the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation will induct over 1,400 electric buses by April of the coming year. In the first phase of the same, the CM flagged off 100 non-airconditioned (AC) buses at Vidhana Soudha. These electric buses, according to Siddaramaiah, have not only worked to promote public transportation services in the city but have also curbed vehicular emissions. 

While making this announcement, the CM also spoke about the success of the Shakti scheme introduced by his government which availed free bus rides for the women of Karnataka. “So far, Karnataka women have undertaken 120 crore rides in state transport buses for free since the launch of the Shakti scheme. A total of 40 lakh people travel on BMTC every day. In this, women of all castes, all religions and all walks of life are travelling for free,” said Siddaramaiah. 

Using the occasion, the CM also spoke out against the critics of the various welfare schemes introduced by his government, claiming that “Due to our guarantees, the purchasing power of people and the economic activity of the state is also increasing. These schemes save a lot of money for labourers, farmers and women. They use that money for other needs of their family. Thus, the economic power of millions of families is also increasing.”

The CM's announcement aside, the BMTC also recently released a statement speaking about the Advance Driver Assistance System that it has currently implemented in 10 buses to overall increase the safety of the transportation system. “In order to effectively control traffic violation and accident cases caused by drivers, 3,000 drivers are being trained in traffic command and control centre from December with the cooperation of the police department for safe driving and strict adherence to traffic rules,” said the BMTC.