DIMAPUR, Sept 18 - The Nagaland Government has introduced city bus services exclusively for women commuters in Dimapur and Kohima to ensure their comfortable travel and safety.
The vehicles nicknamed �Pink buses� hit the roads today. Meanwhile, the Nagaland State Transport Department has also resumed normal city bus services for the general public in the commercial hub of Dimapur and the State capital, Kohima, after a gap of around 15 years.
Nagaland Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation P Paiwang Konyak had flagged off the buses at the Nagaland State Transport Department office here on Monday.
Konyak told media persons after the flagging-off ceremony that though there were no incidents of molestation of women in the State city buses in the past, the exclusive city bus service for women has been introduced to facilitate their travel and without any aim to earn revenue.
Two �pink buses� each for Dimapur and Kohima have been provided as of now, he stated. The minister said there would be male drivers and conductors for the pink buses for now, but if women were ready to take up the job, the department would employ female drivers and conductors in future. Konyak said the people should take the responsibility for the success of the city bus services which were earlier discontinued.
While the four pink buses are brand new, the five normal city buses were among the 14 condemned Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) buses that were lying unused with the State Urban Development Department. The Transport Department procured these buses from the Urban Development Department and refurbished five of them for reuse.
Konyak appealed to the citizens to monitor malpractices on the part of the commuters as well as officials of the Transport Department. He added that the city bus services would be free for senior citizens and the differently abled.
