Free bus travel for Trans community in Delhi, India, announces Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced free bus travel for the trans community in India’s capital, saying they are often neglected in society and deserve equal rights. He hoped that the decision by the government would greatly benefit the trans community.

Arvind Kejriwal said that the proposal will soon undergo Cabinet approval, and the scheme will be implemented within a few weeks, according to ‘India Today’.

“The Transgender community has been neglected by everyone to date. In the history of 75 years since Independence, no other government has done anything for the transgender community. They have been perceived with great disregard,” Arvind Kejriwal said.

“Today, the Delhi government has taken a momentous decision to arrange for free travel on buses in Delhi. As we provide free tickets to women, in the same way, all the individuals belonging to the transgender community will be provided free travel in Delhi buses,” the Delhi Chief Minister added.

Image Credit: Canva

The Delhi government had announced free bus travel for women in October 2019, and since then, approximately 147 crore free tickets have been provided to women.

“During my interaction with a few women, I got to know that women belonging to different categories, whether students, housewives, workers, salaried, local vendors, benefited by this scheme. Approximately 14 lakh women travel daily on these buses for free,” Arvind Kejriwal said.

“Now the transgender community has been added to this. Now, they'll also get the benefit of the convenience of travelling for free on Delhi's buses. I hope that this will help them immensely, making their lives better,” he added.

Meanwhile, Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot said trans people will receive the benefit of free bus services based on the government certificate. Currently, certificates for trans people are issued by the district magistrate's offices of all districts.

“Transgender individuals will avail free bus services based on data received from the social welfare department. Discussions are underway with the department to consider consolidating the entire data of transgender individuals for the transport department. This initiative is expected to benefit thousands of transgender individuals in Delhi,” Kailash Gahlot said.

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