Karnataka Shakti scheme: Bus crew denying free travel, say transgenders

BENGALURU: The transgender community has alleged that a majority of drivers, conductors and passengers of various state road transport corporations are unaware that sexual minorities too are beneficiaries of the Shakti scheme. A video from near Raibag depot in Belagavi district has gone viral on social media, where two trans women can be seen blocking a bus alleging that the staff are denying them free boarding. Asserting that they have voted for the government in the recent elections, they wonder why they have been denied free tickets, while the driver impatiently honks at them to move aside.“I met the managing director of Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation on Wednesday and also some police officials to discuss these issues. For us to avail the five promises of the government, we need our ID cards that validate us as ‘trans’. Only four applications have been approved for trans ID cards against thousands that are pending with the corporation. There are about 14,000 transgenders in Bengaluru alone,” said Riyana Raju, a transwoman and general secretary of Karnataka Youth Congress.Riyana said the transgender community’s unease on public transport goes beyond Shakti issues. “If we sit next to men, we are told we don’t belong there. When I was recently travelling in Bengaluru, the same happened to me. I showed my regular ID on my phone and sat in the women’s section. A woman started complaining to the conductor about my presence and the staff finally said I couln’t sit anywhere as there are no seats reserved for trans women,” Riyana explained. Rakshitha Mallikarjuna, a trans activist, said very few from the community travel in buses and those who do are being treated differently and the attitude is unwelcoming. “Sensitisation programmes are the need of the hour for not only the crew, but also passengers. They can do simple things like paste stickers with a message about accepting trans identities inside buses,” she said. Rakshitha said when she travelled from Bengaluru to Tumakuru recently, the bus conductor denied her free boarding. “I told him that I will pay for the ticket and also send him a legal notice for depriving a rightful beneficiary the Shakti perk. He then gave me a ‘nil’ ticket and apologised for his ignorance,” she said.Activists said in Yadgir, a transgender woman was denied a free ticket because her ID card bore her former male name, though her gender and photo had been reportedly changed and updated.