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Women in Jammu and Kashmir will now be able to avail government bus services for free as chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday officially unveiled the services in the Union territory. The National Conference (NC) government, in its first budget in the UT, had announced free travel for women in J&K in all State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) and Smart City buses. Flanked by senior officers, ministers and party leaders, Omar launched the free service, at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar.
Soon after launching the service, Omar said the free travel for women in J&K is a significant step towards their empowerment. “From April 1, SRTC and smart city vehicles will be free to board for all women. This service is aimed at enhancing travel convenience for education, shopping and other tasks across J&K,” Omar said, adding they put aside money for the scheme in the budget.
“There will be no loss to either SRTC or smart city buses as we have factored it in the budget,” he added. Later in the day, Omar took to micro-blogging platform X to hail the initiative and express the government’s commitment to women’s empowerment and mobility. “Flagged off free bus service for women.
Starting today, women across Jammu and Kashmir will travel free of cost in all smart city and SRTC buses. This isn’t just a welfare measure, it’s a commitment to women’s empowerment, accessible mobility, and a more inclusive J&K,” he said in the post. Free bus services for women was among the National Conference’s (NC) poll promised ahead of the assembly elections last year.
However, the SRTC has a limited fleet of buses which operate in rural parts of J&K and districts headquarters. Smart city buses have become a successful mode of transportation in Srinagar as the fleet is new and comfortable, running in the city and iyts peripheries..
