• Source:JND
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Bengaluru News: Amid ongoing debate over the welfare schemes, a Bengaluru man raised concern over the fairness of the free bus travel scheme for women of Karnataka, leading to a heated discussion on social media. While emphasising the state's good infrastructure, he questioned the sustainability of the scheme and stated that it was not good for the state's economy. 

While sharing his experience of the journey from Bengaluru to Mysuru, Kiran Kumar on X (formerly Twitter) stated that the journey was “comfortable” due to the world-class highway. However, he pointed out that there was a massive difference in the fare distribution among passengers. Kumar raised his concern in a few pointers and emphasised that if the state was in profit, all the passengers could be given the benefit of the scheme, irrespective of the gender. 

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“I took an early morning bus to Mysuru, from Bengaluru. Rs 210 fare. Comfortable KSRTC bus and a world-class highway for fast travel. But I got a few thoughts,” he said in the post on X. “ Nearly 30 of the 50 passengers were women. Just show Aadhar and travel free. Is this fair? Is it equality?" he wrote. "20 men are paying for the entire bus. Is that fair?" he added. "Saw an old man struggling to find notes to pay, while a well-off young woman on a video call next to him travels free. Is that fair?” he asked his third question. “Why not make it free for these 20 men as well?” he further added. 

However, his post led to a massive debate over the ongoing welfare schemes run by the government. While several of the users supported his ideas, the others criticised him for being "capitalist". "Its not freebies. Government is paying back to the society in return to taxes people give. If you do not understand this concept, one cannot understand the principle of democratic government and governance," one of the users wrote.

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"Everything needs money to run. It has to come from somewhere! If somebody is getting a freebie means somebody other is paying extra," the other user stated.