COIMBATORE: Backward classes welfare minister V Sampath Kumar on Friday launched Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) govt’s expanded women’s free bus travel initiative, ‘Vetri Payanam’, at Gandhipuram Central Bus Stand in Coimbatore, and said people had delivered a fitting rebuke to those who mocked the scheme as “osi payanam” (free journey).The launch, held on Gandhi Jayanti, follows chief minister C Josehp Vijay’s announcement that the women’s free travel programme would be extended to cover all city buses and suburban buses operating within an 80km short-distance radius.At the event organised by Coimbatore district administration, Sampath Kumar flagged off the scheme and distributed sweets and zero-fare travel tickets to women passengers. District collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar, MLAs Kanimozhi Santhosh and N M Sukumar, Coimbatore corporation commissioner Katta Ravi Teja and senior transport corporation officials were present.Speaking to reporters, the minister said Coimbatore division of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation covers Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode and Nilgiris districts, and that the scheme was being rolled out in 2,108 buses in the division, comprising 1,171 city buses and 937 suburban and ghat route buses. In Coimbatore district alone, the scheme has been implemented in 790 buses, including 602 city buses, he said, adding that women can travel without paying fares on these services.Sampath Kumar said those who derided the women’s free travel programme during the previous regime as “osi payanam” had been punished by voters to the extent that they could not enter assembly. He said the current administration was ensuring women’s safety and dignity, and that drivers and conductors had been instructed to prevent any such derogatory behaviour.He said operational delays and communication gaps in certain stretches were being addressed. He maintained that allegations spread by opposition parties and on social media would not stand before the people’s verdict, asserting that govt would register victory in the coming elections.
