SIRSI (UTTARA KANNADA): Women from Therukanalli and Kulve villages in Kulve gram panchayat limits in Sirsi taluk of Uttara Kannada district have decided to pay for their bus ride at least for 15 days a month, despite the state government’s Shakti (free bus ride) scheme for them.
They took this decision because their villages, which are in the forest area, were provided with a bus service recently -- 77 years after Independence.
“After several appeals and requests, a mini KSRTC bus service was approved for our villages where roads are narrow. We have to ensure that the bus service is uninterrupted. Hence, we have decided to pay for our tickets at least for 15 days a month as suggested by the KSRTC authorities,” said Geetha Naik, a resident of Therukarnalli.
People of Therukanalli and Kulve welcomed the service by offering puja to the mini bus as it reached their villages. They not only paid for their first trip, but also vowed to pay at least for 15 days a month. A video of a group of women announcing this decision has gone viral.
“Children from these villages had to walk around five km to their school. To go to Banavasi, Sirsi or even the gram panchayat office at Kulve, we had to depend on some private vehicles or walk till Banavasi road to catch a bus. This bus service has come as a blessing to us,” says Venkatesh Naik.
This bus service will help people of Muddinapal, Paladabail. Therakanalli, Kulve, Koppa, Shigehalli and Nanikatta villages going to Sirsi or Banavasi. On the first day, the bus service received a good response with most of the women passengers paying for their ride.
The Sirsi depot of KSRTC, which launched this mini bus service, has promised to run its red buses regularly if roads in these villages are widened.