No glass ceiling too strong as women shatter several In the rain-fed terrains, women fish out a success story with pisciculture
POWER RIDE 40 women drive erickshaw in Jaipur, double up as tourist guides
looking for sightseeing services in the Pink City can now book environment friendly e-rickshaws driven by women, who also double up as a guide.
A not-for-profit organisation has trained women from the weaker sections of the society to drive the battery-operated e-rickshaws that have been modified and painted pink. “A public limited company – Pink City Rickshaw Co – has been formed with equity participation from about 40 women e-rickshaw drivers and the number will be eventually increased to 200,” founder Radhika Kumari told HT.
The company has tied up with hotels and tour operators to offer customised tour packages.
“The project focuses on training women, ideally in the age group of 18-35, selected from weaker sections of society. It has opened a new channel of income for these women after their training in rickshaw driving and soft skills. They have smart uniforms and are groomed to interact with tourists,” Radhika said.
“We offer three tours – heritage, crafts and shopping. A tourist circuit has been designed keeping in mind the tourists who want to visit the historical sites in the city, but are hesitant to manoeuvre the congested streets on their own,” she said.
One of the drivers, Renu Sharma, said that apart from earning she was doing driving the rickshaws as she was enjoying the job. “My husband runs a paan kiosk, and was supportive of my decision. I did not face any opposition from other family members either. I have been trained to interact with tourists, including foreigners, using a few English words and it’s not difficult,” she told HT.
“At times, we also offer suggestions on places to visit to the tourists,” she said.
Another driver Pushpa Devi said that initially she faced some opposition from her family, but now they have no issue with her job.
The e-rickshaws have been modified by Jaipur-based NID graduate Ayush Kasliwal. The modified vehicle has a collapsible canopy and ergonomically designed seats, mechanical improvement for greater safety and also a locker for safekeeping of belongings of the clients, a mobile charger, water bottle holder, city maps and so on. The e-rickshaws also have an IVRS app installed with the premarked routes, which prove to be helpful for both tourists and add a secured system for operations for women drivers.
“It’s a first of its kind service in Jaipur and garnering a lot of support from different agencies, most of the niche hotels, as well as travel companies who want to offer unique experiences. It’s a novel way of getting introduced to the city and exploring the hidden by-lanes,” Radhika said.
Chief minister Vasundhara Raje will formally inaugurate the project in September.
Women in Rajasthan are scripting a new story of self-reliance by setting up fisheries in Dholpur district.
Over 3,200 members of Basedibased Saheli Kiran Mahila Sarvagin Vikas Sehkari Samiti — which works in nine gram panchayats and 53 villages in Dholpur — are all set to manage fisheries, a male-dominated trade so far.
The brain behind the idea is samiti secretary Guddan Devi. “There are many terrains in the districts where rain water accumulates and is available throughout the year. I shared the idea of setting up fisheries with other members of the group. It led to a flurry of questions on the type of fish, training, and marketing etc,” said the 35-year-old.
“We approached former district collector Abhay Kumar (who is at present working with the cooperative department). He was initially unsure of the plan. Looking at our confidence, he put us in touch with an NGO, who gave us the basic knowledge of the trade,” she said.
Samiti president Kamlesh kumari said that after understanding the basics, they planned to visit a place where women were already running fisheries. “We selected Ernakulam district in Kerala. There we interacted with technical experts and agencies related to market and marketing. The cost of rearing fish is anything between Re 1 and ₹1.25, including the cost of seeds, which is 0.20 paisa. A fish is sold between ₹5 and ₹6. The information was encouraging and we decided to rent a pond,” she said.
Around 4km away from Sarmathura town, a pond was taken on lease for ₹25,000 a year. “We divided the pond into two parts – nursery and main pond. The nursery area was slushy and the PH level was unsuitable for rearing fish. The members cleaned and treated the pond to maintain the required PH level,” Kamlesh said.
Guddan said that on the suggestion of experts and market demand, we seeded fishes such as rohu, katla, grass and naini. “The seeding process is progressing well in the nursery and soon we will be shifted them to the main pond. Come September, our fish will be sold at Janakpuri area in Delhi, Hyper City (Noida) and stores in Bhopal,” Kamlesh said.
District in-charge and principal secretary cooperative department Abhay Kumar said that this step shows the confidence these women have as this is the first time that women in Rajasthan have ventured into such a trade.
A month ago, the samiti started farming fish and was given a loan through Rajasthan Grameen Aajeevika Vikas Parishad.
He said that 50 more ponds have been selected, where water is available throughout the year. “Our main objectives are women’s empowerment and selfreliance. The women can carry out business worth ₹1 crore annually,” said Kumar.
He said that the fisheries department has been directed to provide training and the women are being sent to West Bengal to gain more insight into the trade.