Soon after the launch of Kudumbasree travels, the country’s first women-only taxi cab service, She Taxi, started its operations in Kochi on Monday. The project, conceived and implemented by Gender Park under the Department of Social Justice, is being extended to the city after its success in Thiruvanathapuram, where it was launched in November last year.
Launching the initiative, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the state government would extend support to ensure the smooth operation of the taxi network, which boasts a fleet of 10 cars. He also declared that the government would make steps to set up a permanent parking facility for these taxis in Fort Kochi.
Announcing that the taxi network had been included in the Mission 676 programme, he said that the government was committed to complete all the social security schemes it announced.
Minister for social justice M.K. Muneer, who presided over the event, said that the She Taxi had become a model initiative with even foreign governments expressing their interest in replicating the model. “Apart from the urban bodies in Hyderabad and Bangalore, the UAE government has come forward to launch similar projects in their cities,” he said.The minister also said the social justice department was planning to promote terrace farming in the state inspired by the movie, How Old Are You, starring Manju Warrier, who is also the goodwill ambassador of the taxi network.
