Hyderabad : In a pivotal move, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy officially initiated the implementation of two out of the six promises made by the Congress party during the recently concluded Assembly elections. The inauguration ceremony, held at the Assembly premises on Saturday, saw the launch of two key initiatives – free travel for women in state-owned Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) buses and an expansion of the coverage under the Rajiv Arogyasri scheme from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
The symbolic flag-off of the free travel initiative for women took place in the presence of Women Minister Seethakka, Konda Surekha, the entire Cabinet, and Congress MLAs. Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari and renowned boxing champion Nikhat Zareen also graced the event.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, along with Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, protem Speaker Akbaruddin Owaisi, and other ministers, formally unveiled zero tickets of TSRTC and presented the new logo and posters of the enhanced Rajiv Arogyasri scheme.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy highlighted the significance of December 9, marking the birthday of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. He underscored that this date holds special importance for Telangana, being the day in 2009 when the then UPA government announced the initiation of the state’s formation process. Reddy praised Sonia Gandhi as the “mother of Telangana” and reiterated the commitment to fulfilling all six guarantees within 100 days, aiming to transform Telangana into a welfare state.
Under the newly launched initiatives, girls and women of all age groups, as well as transgender individuals domiciled in Telangana, can now travel free in TSRTC buses within the state borders. This includes Palle Velugu, Express, city ordinary, and city Metro buses. For inter-state Express and Palle Velugu buses, travel is free up to the borders of Telangana.
Women can avail of this benefit by presenting any valid identity card. Additionally, the Rajiv Arogyasri scheme, a health insurance initiative for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, has doubled its financial coverage to Rs 10 lakh per annum per family. The scheme, catering to 90.10 lakh eligible BPL families, offers 1,672 packages covering various ailments across 21 specialties. The government aims to prioritize the health and welfare of its citizens through these transformative measures.
