Kerala: Seats to be marked for moms on buses

KOZHIKODE: The State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) has ordered the Transport commissioner to make it mandatory that the reserved seat meant for mothers carrying toddlers in buses should be written above the seat.

Though the state government had issued an order in August 2015 to reserve five per cent of the total seats in buses for mothers carrying toddlers, it was not written on the seat. The SCPCR order came in the wake of a plaint filed by Kozhikode block panchayat member N.K. Imbichikoya.

Though the complainant had approached the Commission praying that an order be issued to allocate seats for both men and women carrying toddlers, the SCPCR considered the issue of only women carrying toddlers .

“It was sad to witness men and women carrying children struggling inside jam packed buses. No one was aware that there was a law to allocate seats for them because it was not written above the seat,” said Imbichikoya. He added that he used to get into a verbal duel with the bus crew many times on the issue. “Interestingly, a majority of bus conductors are also unaware of such a law,” he said.

SCPCR member Adv. K. Naseer Chaliyam said that the transport commissioner would revert on the action he would take within a month after receiving the  order. “The order is a huge relief. People will come to know that there is such a law,” said Poornima. S, mother of 5-year old girl, who is a regular commuter on the Kozhikode-Koyilandy route.