Daijiworld Media Network – Beltangady (SS)

Beltangady, Jun 14: Women folks are flocking to religious centres and tourist spots in large numbers in a sudden burst as a fallout of the introduction of free travel in government buses for them by the Siddaramaiah government.

There seems to be a festive frenzy among the women in travelling to popular pilgrim centres such as Dharmasthala and Kukke Subramanya besides tourist attractions. Women are crisscrossing from Dharmasthala, Kukke Subramanya, Hassan and Bengaluru besides other tourist attractions.

On Monday and Tuesday, there were more women travelling by buses to Dharmasthala and Subramanya. The demand for seats has risen due to the free travel scheme introduced by the government for women. The burden of free travel is likely to intensify on the buses in the coming days and especially during the weekends.

Buses in rural areas are running to full capacity which is posing difficulty for school and college students. Students have also complained that they are unable to reach their schools and colleges on time due to the heavy rush in the buses. They say more buses need to be introduced as also drivers and conductors are unable to control and manage the crowd in their buses. Some of them are even found hanging on footboards in buses. Men are seen pushing women to occupy the front rows of seats in the buses while children are made to squeeze themselves to get into the buses through the windows.

The number of devotees in various pilgrim centres have risen due to the free bus travel for women.