19 hours ago
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The Kerala government’s flagship ‘Priyadarshini’ scheme, which offers escaped question for each women and transgender persons connected Ordinary buses operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), has won the hearts of cardamom plantation workers commuting from Tamil Nadu.
But the overwhelming response, resulting successful a regular postulation dip, has fixed emergence to speculation that the authorities could soon bounds the installation to commuters wrong the State boundaries. An authoritative astatine the Kumily dept told The Hindu that in the airy of the scheme’s popularity among plantation workers travelling successful from Tamil Nadu, the authorities are believed to beryllium reasoning of introducing restrictions. The authoritative added that the depot had already submitted details of the interstate Ordinary buses operated from there.
KSRTC Managing Director Pramoj Sankar said the corp would licence each women commuters to question for escaped connected Ordinary interstate buses operated by it arsenic agelong arsenic determination was nary ailment against specified an arrangement.
Officials said a large number of women workers travelled from the neighbouring villages successful Tamil Nadu to large cardamom-growing areas successful Kerala, specified as Nedumkandam, Chakupallom, Anavilasom, Vandanmedu, Rajakumari, and Vallakkadavu, relying heavy connected these interstate buses via Kumily, Cumbumettu and Bodimettu for their regular commute.
Rasathi, a nonmigratory of Gudalur successful Tamil Nadu and a regular commuter, said she worked astatine a cardamom plantation at Chakupallom and that the escaped question strategy was a large fiscal relief. “Now we tin instrumentality our afloat wages home, acknowledgment to the Kerala government,” she said.
Lakshmi Ammal, different idiosyncratic from Cumbum in Tamil Nadu, expressed her gratitude to the Kerala Chief Minister. “Through this decision, the Kerala authorities is respecting women,” she said.
An authoritative from the KSRTC Kumily depot said the depot operated three interstate buses from aboriginal greeting on the Kumily-Cumbum route, specifically covering the Cumbum-Chakkupallom, Cumbum-Anavilasom, and Cumbum-Santhamnada routes. Together, these 3 buses conducted nearly 20 trips each day.
“The mean regular postulation per autobus utilized to be ₹26,000, but since the implementation of the escaped question scheme, it has dropped to below ₹8,000. Women passengers from Tamil Nadu present hold specifically for the escaped KSRTC buses, with nearly 100 to 120 women boarding each trip,” the authoritative said.
“Male workers from Tamil Nadu are spreading the connection successful their villages astir the escaped question for women connected Kerala buses, encouraging them to usage the service. Since the motorboat of the Priyadarshini scheme, the fig of women interstate passengers has accrued significantly,” the authoritative noted.
