Kolkata City to observe pink fleet in autos for women safety

Kolkata, February 10: Have you ever as a woman been skeptical about travelling in auto late night? The fear and terror is quite visible at times and with the on-going sexual violence inheriting in the states. Bearing severe inconvenience to working women all over the country, Kolkata, following the steps of Delhi, has decided to put women behind the three wheels with the first ever pink autos in Kolkata.

 

Citizens will soon witness an excess of pink autos in Kolkata, with three women already have taken up driving autos plying from the Tollygunge-Hazra route. This is a move by self-help group, promoted by the government, especially for women's economic development.

The reason behind this initiative of pink autos in Kolkata is two-fold. Firstly, the profession of auto-driving in Kolkata is entirely male dominated, and auto unions in the city felt like it is high time that women step up and make their presence felt in this profession. More than 60 female drivers are being trained at the moment, and the city will soon see them behind the wheels in pink autos in Kolkata.

 

Secondly, the aim is to make women feel safe when they are travelling in Kolkata. The pink autos in Kolkata will give them more confidence to use public transport at odd times of the day without the fear of their safety. This was done due to the increasing number of molestation and harassment cases coming up against auto drivers in the city.

According to the auto unions, the color pink is put on the autos so that it is easily recognized by women. The choice of color might hint towards a bit of age-old sexism, but nevertheless, the intention is genuine and it is for the empowerment and safety of women, so we’ll make our peace with it!

The pink autos in Kolkata will be ferrying female passengers only. It might take a couple of months for the entire pink fleet to take to the roads, and we cannot wait!