PVTG tribal women seek safe drinking water facilities in ASR district

The Congress-led United Democratic Front had promised in its election manifesto that free travel would be provided for women in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation buses.

| Photo Credit: File

The State-run Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has begun the process to implement gender ticketing in buses operating across the State on Saturday. A circular was issued on Friday to the public utility officials suggesting measures to introduce a gender ticketing system in buses, which will record if a passenger is a woman,

man or child in ticket machines operated by the conductor of the buses.The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had promised in its election manifesto that free travel would be provided for women in the State transport buses, a freebie offer which was cheered by women voters, who outnumber men voters in Kerala. Before implementing the scheme, the corporation is trying to estimate the financial obligations the corporation will have to shoulder as part of offering free travel for women.As part of this, Electronic Ticketing Machines (ETMs) have been updated. According to the circular issued, all the conductors in the KSRTC buses should record the gender of passengers. The printed tickets generated by the ETMs will indicate the gender of the passenger, according to the officials.Although the UDF had promised free KSRTC travel for women across the State, offering free travel to women is also riddled with serious challenge for the cash-strapped public utility.Similar schemes have already been implemented in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Published - May 09, 2026 08:51 pm IST

The Congress-led United Democratic Front had promised in its election manifesto that free travel would be provided for women in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation buses.

| Photo Credit: File

Women belonging to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) Kondhu community on Thursday have urged the government to provide safe drinking water facilities in Dayarthi village under Jeenabadu panchayat in Ananthagiri mandal of Alluri Sitharama Raju district.The villagers said that around 450 tribal residents in the hilltop settlement were dependent on contaminated stream water for drinking purposes, resulting in frequent illnesses such as malaria, cold and fever. They alleged that despite the implementation of schemes such as Jal Jeevan Mission and Janman, drinking water facilities had not reached their village.The residents said that road connectivity to the village had recently improved after Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan visited the area, but the drinking water issue remained unresolved. They also pointed out that patients had to travel to Devarapalli in private vehicles for treatment, spending nearly ₹2,000 on transportation.Tribal women, including Vantala Radha, Lakshmi, Kanthamma and Devi, demanded borewells and household tap connections. CPM district executive member K. Govinda Rao, along with local leaders Sridhar, Somanna and Narsinga Rao, urged the government to resolve the issue immediately and warned of a protest at the ITDA office if no action was taken. Published - May 07, 2026 09:57 pm IST

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PVTG tribal women seek safe drinking water facilities in ASR district

Free ride for women: KSRTC introduces gender ticketing in Kerala

Free ride for women: KSRTC introduces gender ticketing in Kerala

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