Sub-registrar Taslima Mohammed takes a stand and encourages women to exercise their right to contribute to the government.
Taslima walking with provisions for tribals in Mulugu during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Supplied)
While lakhs of women across Telangana are gushing about the ‘zero-ticket’ free bus ride under Mahalakshmi scheme, a woman officer has taken a principled stand against it. She wants to buy her ticket but the government’s orders don’t allow conductors to receive payments from women passengers. She wants it changed.
A Telangana government officer has said that women who are financially well and can afford the travel at cost should purchase their tickets on Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) buses, even though they are eligible for the zero-ticket option under the Mahalakshmi scheme, launched by the Telangana government.
In a viral video, the Sub-registrar in Mahabubabad, Taslima Mohammed, is seen asking if she can pay for a ticket on an RTC bus. The conductor, however, informs her that money cannot be taken from a woman traveller as they have strict instructions to give “zero-tickets” to all women of Telangana traveling on RTC buses.
In an interview with South First, Taslima says, “I did ask for a ticket on the RTC bus and I don’t see anything wrong in contributing to the government if I am earning well and I am able to pay for my travel expenses. There should be an option for women to decide whether they want to pay for their ticket and actually implement the scheme for women who belong to Below-Poverty-Line families.”
She says that she has made it her mission to offer to pay for her ticket every time she travels in a RTC bus and also encourage other government employees in her office to opt to do the same.
it's a good idea for government women employees, not to use the free bus service. Personally, I won't be using it, and I hope others who travel for work consider doing the same. By not taking advantage we can help the government use those resources for other purpose. @rjsaulakh pic.twitter.com/cpjPczcE6Y
— Taslima Mohammed Official (@taslima_sr) December 18, 2023
Taslima was transferred to Mahabubabad three months ago. Before that, she worked as a sub-registrar for 13 years in Mulugu. She would travel from Hanumakonda, where she lived, to Mulugu was via an RTC bus every day and it would take nearly one hour.
Taslima Mohammed with Mulugu Minister Seethakka. (X)
Taslima has a postgraduate in degree in Organic Chemistry from Kakatiya University in Warangal and was directly recruited in 2009 after clearing the Group 2 examinations in then-United Andhra Pradesh.
“I have this attitude toward helping the poor and not benefitting from freebies and welfare schemes of the government,” she tells us.
Offering a back-story, she narrates, “My father, from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), had fought for rural people who were victimised by land grabbing and encroachments. He was killed in 1987 by Naxalites. I was two years old at the time, but I am told that later, the Naxalites distributed pamphlets stating that my father was a genuine public servant. So, I must have imbibed this quality of helping people from him.”
Taslima and her four siblings received education in government institutions all because their single mother left no stone unturned. She worked on their farms and produced paddy in Ramachandrapuram, Mulugu. Among the five siblings, three are serving in government jobs.
“The TSRTC is the safest for women and I tell everyone this, including my staff and all the employees in the office. I would love to be an RTC conductor for a day!” an enthusiastic Tasmila tells South First.
“I travel every day and I observe that in rural buses of Palle Velugu, people tease, get drunk. Their behaviour is unpredictable but the women conductors overcome all of this and work night shifts too. They have no optional holiday. I would like to work in their place one day,” she tells us.
With persistence driving her forward, she even met VC Sajjanar, Managing Director of TSRTC, and explained her stance.
Taslima told South First the many observations she has made in a bid to improve the TSRTC. “As per bus authority guidelines, staff should have the right to stop and ask troublesome passengers to deboard the bus in order to ensure public safety,” she says.
“Also, each bus stand should have well-equipped and designated men’s and women’s toilets and extra facilities for women staff. Lack of toilets at major bus centres creates problems for the staff, including not being able to take proper breaks, which in turn results in medical issues,” Taslima advocates.
Her third observation is that the body language and tone of voice of the staff towards passengers should be tolerant and polite. She urges that RTC staff be well-trained to address passengers.
“I am a social activist. I am known well for my voluntary work during Covid-19 in Mulugu. I also educate the rural women in my village every Women’s Day. I tell the women that this one day they should respect themselves and enjoy the day as a festival,” Taslima says.
Taslima with Minister Seethakka in Mulugu. (Supplied)
Recalling the previous year’s initiative, she says, “Last year, there were many women from different fields invited — police, advocates, sportsperson, and politicians. When these familiar faces speak up, the women in rural areas get motivated.”
“I also work as a daily-wage labourer on farms every Sunday to make the youth understand how much work gives their parents a meagre ₹200-₹400 a day,” Taslima adds.
She believes that she can win over everybody with love and also assists homeless persons, pushed to beggary, get haircuts.
In 2017, Taslima read in the news that a non-local mentally-disabled woman had become pregnant and she requested IAS officer Akunuri Murali of Bhupalapally district to help in the situation. She took care of the woman until the child was delivered and further put up for adoption.
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