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| Women await reservation in public transport as elsewhere | | Can Traffic Police do moral Policing? | | Sana Altaf
SRINAGAR, Apr 4 : Despite repeated assurances from the Traffic Department, reservation of seats for women in buses remains a distant dream in the Valley.
Women continue to face inconvenience while travelling in buses over long and short distances. In overloaded buses, women have to stand all through the journey. Besides young girls, aged women too are not offered seats even as eight seats are reserved for women in buses.
In October, 2012 the Traffic Department had launched a drive for ensuring reservation of seats for women in buses. Stickers and banner were pasted in buses and various other places. Awareness camps were organized in colleges. The camps continued for 8-10 days.
The impact could not last for more than few days. Though the posters of the traffic department directing reservation of seats for women remain intact in buses, there is no implementation on the ground.
As a gift for the women folk, the traffic department on March 8, 2012 extensively engaged in implementation of reservation of seats for women in buses.
Cops could be seen giving moral lessons to the commuters about the status of women. Within days, the impact of the drive died down as the traffic department also slacked its action against violation of the rule.
Even as the traffic department claims to be working in this regard, no action is taken against the violators of this rule while women continue to suffer. "Travelling in buses is such a mess. If we fail to get a seat, we have to stand all the way to the destination. It is really cumbersome," said Mavish Shah, an employee. Nazima Ashraf, a University student adds that she has to stand in overloaded buses often.
"No one is bothered to offer a seat even though eight seats are reserved for women in buses." Nazima complained of insensitivity on part of the traffic department in implementing this rule. "Rules are not meant for implementation in the Valley. We see large red posters in buses, but no one cares to reserve seats for women," said Asima Khan, a law student from University of Kashmir.
She said that despite government's promises, the rule is not implemented on ground.
"In other cities of the country, we would not find males occupying women seats. But here it is all in mess." In 2010, four ladies special buses were launched in Srinagar by State Road Transport Corporation. The buses ferried only on four routes, namely Wathpora, Hazaratbal (University), Bemina (JVC) and Rangreth, limiting the number of beneficiaries to countable female population of the Valley.
There were no services for other educational institutions and city outskirts. After proving a complete failure, buses were taken off the road within a year in July 2011.
While taking to Early Times, SP traffic, Haseeb-ul-Rehman said that they are contemplating on starting a fresh drive for implementing reservation of seats for women.
"We shall soon start action against it. Those who violate the rule shall be challaned" He added that women folk must stand for themselves and raise their voice against violators.
"If women do not find seat in buses, they must ask other commuters occupying the reserved seats to vacate." Rehman says they need cooperation from people and women to make seats reservation a success in Kashmir. |
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