Despite reserved seats, women struggle to get berth in buses
Ravinder Saini
Tribune News Service
Jhajjar, June 29
Despite 15 seats reserved for women in the Haryana Roadways buses, they find it difficult to get the seat. Girl students are the worst sufferer due to non-implementation of the directives.
As per information, the state transport authority has reserved seats number 7 to 9, 12 to 21 and 25-26 for women in every bus. Similarly, seats from 4 to 6 and 10 -11 have been reserved for freedom fighter/senior citizen/disabled and sitting MP, MLA/ex-MP or MLA, respectively.
“I have to regularly face inconvenience in the overloaded buses as male passengers don’t bother to offer seat to women,” said Bimla, a woman passenger.
Rekha, a student, said: “We hardly find the women seats unoccupied in the buses. Either we have to remain standing or have to sit on the general seats as bus conductors don’t take interest in asking the male passengers to vacate the seats reserved for women.”
A roadways employee said it was not possible to keep all seats reserved for women vacated on the entire route if 15 women were not travelling in the bus.
Balwant Godara, General Manager (GM), Jhajjar depot, said seat numbers reserved for women were not allotted to men at the bus stand. However, no woman passenger had so far made any complaint about occupation of their seats by men in the buses.
