Updated – June 12, 2024 11:21 pm IST
Published – June 12, 2024 11:19 pm IST – KHAMMAM
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka traveling in a TSRTC palle velugu bus from Khammam to Jagannadhapuram in Khammam district on Wednesday.
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has said the State government is mulling over a proposal to sanction loans to women self-help groups (SHGs) to enable them buy buses and lease them to the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC).
The State government is paying over ₹300 crore to the TSRTC every month to reimburse free travel by women and it in turn is financially strengthening the public transport entity helping it to buy new buses and extend its services, Mr. Vikramarka, the Minister for Finance and Energy, noted.
The Deputy Chief Minister took the passengers of a TSRTC palle velugu bus by surprise when he boarded the heavy vehicle and travelled with them from the old bus stand in Khammam to Jagannadhapuram village near Bonakal on Wednesday evening.
He bought the bus ticket and interacted with the co-passengers and crew on board the bus to get direct feedback from them on the Congress government’s flagship Mahalakshmi scheme providing free travel facility to girls, women and transgender persons.
When Mr Vikramarka asked a woman passenger about the free travel scheme, the woman identified as Janamma of Nagulavancha village shared her feedback. “Thanks to the free travel scheme, we are now able to save money and it is helping us financially,” she said.
