Women shouldn’t be stopped from boarding buses as first passengers: Odisha panel

The directive came on a petition by social worker, Ghasiram Panda from Sonepur, who sought the commission’s intervention

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha’s State Commission for Women asked the state transport department on Tuesday to end the practice of government and private bus conductors not allowing a woman to board the vehicle if there are no other passengers, people familiar with the matter said.

The Odisha women rights panel said it had received similar complaints in the past (Representative Image)

The directive came on a petition by social worker, Ghasiram Panda from Sonepur, who sought the commission’s intervention after a woman was stopped from boarding a bus as the first passenger at Baramunda bus stand in Bhubaneswar.

Panda said the bus conductor did not allow the woman to board the bus since there were no passengers in the bus and allowing a woman to be the first to board the bus is considered a bad omen. The conductor allegedly told the woman that there was a possibility of an accident if she was allowed to be the first passenger.

The commission, which forwarded the petition to the transport department on July 25, said this wasn’t the first time that the commission had been informed about the practice.

“This type of incident had come to the knowledge of the Commission in the past too. So in order to avoid future inconvenience to women passengers and to protect their safety and dignity, I would like to request you to ensure that the buses (both Government and Private) allow women as the first passenger.” the OSCW said in its directive.

The commission also asked the transport department to increase the percentage of bus seats reserved for women to 50%.