Women to travel free in KSRTC buses from June 15 in Kerala

The new UDF government in Kerala led by Chief Minister V D Satheesan announced free KSRTC bus travel for women, increased honorariums for welfare workers, a senior citizens department, and a reinvestigation into an alleged Youth Congress assault case

Thiruvananthapuram: The newly sworn-in UDF government in Kerala on Monday announced a series of welfare measures, including free travel for women in KSRTC buses from June 15, enhanced honorarium for ASHA and Anganwadi workers, and the creation of a dedicated department for senior citizens. Announcing the decisions taken at the first Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said detailed guidelines for the free bus travel scheme for women would be issued later.

The Cabinet also decided to constitute a separate department for elderly persons, which the Chief Minister said could be the first such initiative in the country. “A society is judged by how it treats its elderly citizens. Kerala should become a model civilised society by ensuring dignified care for senior citizens,” he said.

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He said that fulfilling a promise made during the prolonged agitation by ASHA workers in front of the Secretariat, the Cabinet approved an increase of Rs 3,000 per month in their honorarium. He also announced a monthly hike of Rs 1,000 each for Anganwadi workers and helpers, school cooking staff, pre-primary teachers and ayahs.

The Cabinet recommended senior MLA G Sudhakaran as the pro-term Speaker and requested the Governor to convene the Assembly for the swearing-in of MLAs and the election of the Speaker.
According to the schedule announced by the government, MLAs will be sworn in on May 21 and the Speaker will be elected on May 22, he said. The Cabinet also appointed senior advocate Rajeev Babu as Advocate General and advocate T S Asaf Ali as Director General of Prosecution.

In another major decision, the Cabinet approved the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to reinvestigate a case related to the alleged assault on two Youth Congress workers during a protest in Alappuzha when the former Chief Minister attended a programme there. The CM said the Alappuzha district court had ordered reinvestigation on November 8, 2024, but the previous government had failed to implement the order for over one-and-a-half years.

Rejecting allegations of political vendetta, he said the government was only implementing the court’s directive. He also said that a white paper would be issued detailing the state’s and the government’s exchequer’s financial condition. Satheesan and 20 ministers were sworn in earlier in the day.