Fulfilling a key election promise, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and the Telugu Desam Party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu has launched the ‘Divyang Shakti’ scheme to provide free bus travel to people with disabilities.
‘Divyang Shakti’ is focused on social equity, mobility and "last-mile dignity," the Chief Minister said after launching the scheme in the greenfield capital city of Amaravati.
The scheme is expected to benefit over 12.76 lakh individuals, including 11.16 lakh persons with disabilities and their attendants, making it one of the largest state-led mobility support programmes for the differently-abled in India.
Key features of the scheme include free bus travel for people with disabilities across APSRTC services, 50 per cent fare concession for attendants accompanying beneficiaries and eligibility for individuals with over 40 per cent disability.
The scheme will cover 21 categories of disabilities while the government will spend Rs 207 crore on its implementation through the APSRTC.
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Describing it as a major step toward building an inclusive and equitable society, Naidu said that in the last 21 months, the NDA government has undertaken numerous initiatives for the welfare of the people. In August last year, the government had unveiled a similar scheme for women, christened as ‘Sthree Shakti’.
After launching the scheme along with Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and IT & Education Minister Nara Lokesh, the Chief Minister undertook a special bus journey with beneficiaries from Mangalagiri to Penumaka, drawing an enthusiastic public response along the route.
Naidu travelled with the beneficiaries from Mangalagiri bus station to Penumaka village, about 11 km.
In a coordinated state-wide rollout, the TDP MLAs simultaneously launched the scheme in their respective constituencies, travelled with the beneficiaries, and participated in community outreach events.
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