'Women blessed me for Schemes, guarantees'

Mangaluru, NT Bureau: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who visited the temple town of Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada on Saturday, said women blessed him for the two prominent guarantees 'Gruha Lakshmi' and 'Shakti', with which they were able to lead a comfortable life and travel from a far away town to see the deity.

The 'Gruha Lakshmi' scheme offers Rs 2,000 per month to women head of BPL families in the state, benefiting over one crore women. Under the 'Shakti' scheme, women can travel free of cost in state-run non luxury buses anywhere in Karnataka.

According to Karnataka Transport Department officials, women have availed of as many as 210.29 crore free rides in the state, costing the state exchequer Rs 5,097 crore till May 17 from the date of launch of the scheme on June 11, 2023.

Taking to 'X', the chief minister said, "Today while going to see Lord Manjunatha in Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala, some women came to me with a smile and said that they were leading a comfortable life with Rs 2,000 under Gruha Lakshmi guarantee.