Patna: In a rare first for Bihar, over a dozen women autorickshaw drivers hit the roads in the state capital on Sunday, officials said.
Sarita Pandey and Pinki Kumari, two new drivers, were both excited and happy to drive an autorickhaw. “My much-awaited dream was finally fulfilled today,” Pandey said.
She said it was her decision to take up a new profession as an autorickshaw driver. “I used to earn only Rs3,000 [Dh178] by working at a private school. But now I hope to earn at least double, if not more. I will be able to live a better life,” she said.
Her views were echoed by Kumari and others, who began driving autorickshaws after being trained by experts, courtesy the Bihar State Autorickshaw Drivers’ Association (BSADA).
“I know it is a challenging task to work as an autorickshaw driver for a woman like me. But I am ready to face it and prove myself successful,” Kumari said.
Training provided
Rajkumar Jha, BSADA general secretary, said: “We have trained these women as autorickshaw drivers and helped them get a loan from banks for their own vehicles.”
Jha said the association had provided training to 35 women to drive autorickshaws. In the first phase, 15 of them were selected to drive.
“All of them started their new career as autorickshaw drivers with learners’ licences. They will be issued permanent licences soon,” he said.
Jha said a private bank has provided a loan between Rs150,000 and Rs200,000 to each trainee to buy the vehicle. The women had to put in only Rs10,000-20,000 each. Every month, they need to pay between Rs3,000-4,000 towards repayment of the loan.
The women drivers have initially been assigned to work on a pre-paid basis from Patna Junction, Gandhi Maidan and few other places.
Early this year, the state government had announced in the budget a 100 per cent tax exemption on any commercial vehicles purchased and registered in the name of women holding valid driving licences.
