Mahalakshmi rush sparks seat fight; men want partitions back

Hyderabad: The male passengers travelling in Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) are now demanding the corporation to bring back the partition system in city buses. They said despite purchasing tickets, they were forced to stand during their journey as the women passengers barged their seats.

With the high number of women passengers travelling in state-run buses since the Mahalakshmi scheme implemented by the Telangana government, it is leading to severe congestion, forcing women to sit in the last row seats of the bus, and the male passengers' seats are occupied. The male passengers, senior citizens and the students are experiencing extreme inconvenience and are compelled to stand who seem frustrated and feel unfairly treated despite their payment for the service.

B Vinod, who commutes regularly to work through the TGSRTC bus said, “Despite numerous complaints lodged with officials, they are yet to take any action or initiative to designate specific seating arrangements for men. Several men were seen standing thought-out their journey as even the last row seats was also occupied by the women passengers,” he said. Adding Vinod said the lack of response to address the issue by both government and Corporation has only added to the frustration and discontent among commuters.”

In state-run buses, there are special seats reserved for the women, physically challenged and for the senior citizens in the front rows, however, the remaining seats were designated for male passengers as sometimes female as per passengers’ occupancy. Earlier, there was also a compartment system separating the male passengers from the female by installing partitions from where only the conductor was allowed to pass through for issuing tickets. There are around 3,000 in the city region and none of them has any partition. The partition was installed between the seats reserved for the women and the remaining seats.

A Sathi Reddy, another regular passenger said, “Since the women are travelling in large numbers, they occupied all seats, which is leading to quarrels between passengers each passing day. The Corporation has to bring back the compartment system in city buses to ensure the proper seating allocation for all the passengers who are travelling in state-run buses,” said Sathi Reddy, who is also a president, Telangana Praja Welfare Association.

Sathi Reddy pointed out that women are benefiting from the free service, with 80 per cent of the bus being filled by them till last seats of the bus, especially in the city region. While other passengers, who have paid for their rides, are left standing or even foot-boarding during their trips. This situation also affects school and college students.

The male passengers said that they are not against the free service for the women but are anxious for the discontent related to the allocation of the seats to the other passengers.

Mohammed Asif Hussain Sohail, an activist, said, “The government who launched the scheme and the Transport Corporation must ensure proper seats for the men as well to ensure a seamless travel experience for all passengers in public transport. Moreover, the male passengers are the one who generates revenue for the Corporation.”