New Delhi: Delhi’s Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Saturday, November 16, 2024, inaugurated the world’s first all-women-operated “Sakhi Bus Depot” in Sarojini Nagar. The depot is an initiative towards empowerment of women in a sector traditionally dominated by male bus drivers and depot staff. Some Key Features of the Depot
Completely female, it manages 223 women workers who are put to work through 89 drivers and 134 conductors by the Sakhi Depot. Altogether, 70 buses run on 17 routes across Delhi. The initiative, thus, works towards improving the number of women in public transport jobs with an emphasis on the safety and comfort features.
The operational vehicles are designed with facilitation features such as power steering and adjustable seats. In addition, training and policy reforms have been conducted to make management of service effective, providing safety measures including partitions in facilities within the depot, gender-sensitive amenities, and other enhancements.
Training and Policy Reforms
Under the initiative of the Mission Parivartan program launched in 2022, the Delhi government is giving free training to women who are willing to become professional drivers. Moreover, the minimum height required for drivers has been reduced from 159 cm to 153 cm, which removed the major challenge and increased participation.
The DTC was seen as a symbol of sustainability and equality.
This initiative is also sustainable. Electric buses are part of a broader plan the city of Delhi is taking up to be a green, no-pollution city in the near future. This goes with the government’s EV Policy, where the government has quite clearly spelled out the intentions to evolve towards more environmentally friendly public transport solutions.
Wider Implication
The Sakhi Depot, in all cases, is a beacon of equality for both genders and inclusion. The depot sits on a historic site; its historical origin was in the memory of freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu. The Sakhi Depot is rich in significance in the mission it serves. While much acclaimed, the depot poses questions related to its handling of contractual workers and its issues with differential pay scales, which still need to be changed before many employees can be given equal treatment.
This nationwide spearhead in transportation is envisioned to stimulate similar projects in the entire country while empowering women in transportation and de-gendering the typical traditional
Ender constructs.
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