The West Bengal government, which announced free rides for women on government buses, stated on Tuesday that it would issue special cards to women who travel by government buses.
Free Rides Starting June 1
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said, "We have promised free rides for women on government buses, and that will start from June 1. However, we will issue cards for that to prevent any misuse."
Adhikari further explained, "At the moment, all women will get free rides from next week. But later, we will introduce a card system." He alleged that during the previous Trinamool government, there were instances where men from Domkal in Murshidabad got benefits of the Lakshmir Bhandar scheme.
Ensuring Proper Implementation
The Chief Minister highlighted the challenge of verifying gender, stating, "If someone wearing a burka boards an NBSTC bus from Siliguri to Digha, the driver or the conductor has no mechanism to check if that person is a woman or a man." The card system aims to address such issues and ensure that only eligible women benefit from the scheme.
The initiative is part of the state government's efforts to provide safe and affordable transportation for women, while also preventing any fraudulent use of the facility.
