HMR Women’s Day gift: All women metro station

Taruni station at Madhura Nagar will be a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country taken up by the HMR as a Women’s Day gift.

Metro Rail station at Madhura Nagar, near Sarathi Studios, SR Nagar, would be an all women station. Named as Taruni station, the station would be one-of- its-kind in the country where a majority of the operations were managed by women. As a women’s day gift, Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) MD NVS Reddy announced that a Taruni complex would be developed on a two-acre land near the station where women would be able to shop for anything

The Taruni Complex Metro Rail Station that would be developed by the Hyderabad Metro Rail Authorities would surely serve as the perfect gift for the women in the city as this particular metro station and its services would be completely dedicated to women. Not just with regard to the safety features it would also have a commercial area where women would be able to shop for anything starting from a bindi to clothing stores.

This project is being taken up by the HMR under its Nirbhaya Commute programme. Officials from the HMR say, “Women commuters are vulnerable and that is why we are committed to providing a safe and secure environment for women, we have adopted measures where a woman can travel in the metro without feeling threatened or uncomfortable. With this commute in place, women can have a carefree travel experience.”

NVS Reddy, MD, HMR, says, “This particular station will have A to Z facilities that a woman requires. This particular station is dedicated to women. Not only that, we are trying to ensure that 80 per cent of the works in the station are managed by women themselves. This project will be the first-of-its-kind in the country and we are hopeful of making an example out of it.”

To understand the problems faced by women while travelling using public transport, NVS Reddy also met a few women IPS officers, NGOs and others last year to understand what the HMR could do to ensure that there would be no hassles for any commuter.

The safety features that this station would have are

• Constant monitoring of coaches and stations with the help of CCTV cameras
• Deployment of women police personnel at stations and in coaches
• Creating awareness among women commuters on how they can safeguard themselves while commuting
• Additional lighting near the station complex
• Using social media platforms to bring about safety awareness and have a constant dialogue with public to spread the message of safety
• Use social media to solicit suggestions from public on how to further improve safety for women and other commuters
• Private security firm to man the security
• Talks are on to seek govt force as well

To ensure a better travelling experience for women, the HMR officials have also planned for a commercial complex to be built near the station.

“We have acquired a two-acre land near the station and we are planning to construct a commercial complex. This complex will house everything that a woman requires. We are aiming to make this a different travel experience.”