e-challan will be issued against bus owner if women are denied to enter as first passengers in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The State Transport Authority (STA), Odisha on Thursday directed the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) across the State to issue e-challan against the owners of the buses who deny entry of women as first passengers.

In his letter to all the RTOs, the secretary of STA, has asked them to allowing women as the first passengers to enter into buses.

“With reference to above, I am to say that Sri Ghasiram Panda son of Baidyanath panda, Ramjinagar, Patabhadi, Bhubaneswar filed petition before Odisha State Commission for Women (copy enclosed) alleging that women as first passenger are not allowed to enter into buses,” read the letter of the secretary.

“Permits are granted by STA / RTA to stage carriages on different routes to carry passengers on payment of bus fare as notified by this office. The owner or conductor of a stage carriage cannot deny any women as first passenger to enter into buses. Any deviation shall amount to violation of permit conditions and punishable under Section 192A of M.V. Act, 1988,” it added.

The secretary further said that you are therefore, requested to check stage carriages regularly and whenever it was detected that the owner / conductor of stage carriage denying women as first passenger to enter into bus, e-challan may be drawn against the owner of said vehicle under Section 192A of M.V. Act, 1988 and report compliance.

The Odisha STA’s decision came day after the Odisha State Commission for Women (OSCW) asked it to pass the order.

The women were not allowed to enter the bus as the first passengers due to age old discriminatory superstition among the people. It was blindly believed that the bus may meet with an accident or do bad business for the day if a woman enters it as the first passenger.