Hyderabad: The free travel for girls and women on Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) buses, promised by the Congress during the assembly election campaign, has received a massive response.
Daily, lakhs of women passengers travel on the buses for free.
Over 24 crore women passengers traveled free in TSRTC buses
According to data provided by TSRTC, over 24 crore women passengers have traveled free under the Mahalakshmi Scheme.
As of March 6, 24.0465 crore women passengers have utilized the scheme.
On average, 28.97 lakh passengers have traveled per day under the scheme.
Following is the number of passengers who traveled each day in the past six days.
| Date | Number of passengers travelled free (in lakh) |
| March 1 | 32.08 |
| March 2 | 31.81 |
| March 3 | 26.24 |
| March 4 | 33.18 |
| March 5 | 32.04 |
| March 6 | 32.95 |
One of Congress’ guarantees
The Mahalakshmi Scheme is one of the six guarantees that the Telangana Congress vowed to implement.
However, the scheme has led to an increased passenger load on TSRTC buses, inconvenience, unnecessary travel, and a burden on taxpayers, sparking discontent in certain sections of society.
Recently, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was also filed in the Telangana High Court against the state government’s scheme.
