Hyderabad’s Begumpet Station Now Fully Women-Run
In a remarkable example of women empowerment, Begumpet Railway Station, located in the heart of Hyderabad, is now fully operated by women employees of the South Central Railway (SCR).
Hyderabad:In a remarkable example of women empowerment, Begumpet Railway Station, located in the heart of Hyderabad, is now fully operated by women employees of the South Central Railway (SCR). Currently, 21 women officials manage the station’s day-to-day operations, making it a unique model of inclusion and leadership.
When Deccan Chronicle visited the station on Saturday during Union minister G. Kishan Reddy’s inspection, the women staff expressed pride in their role as the station undergoes development under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Rachel Ranjitha, who has served as a travelling ticket inspector (TTI) at Begumpet for the past 13 years, shared her happiness over the station’s transformation. “When I first joined, there were only 13 stoppages. Now we have 120 stoppages, including 60 MMTS and 60 express trains and daily footfall has reached 15,000,” she said. She added that women officers handle challenging situations calmly and efficiently. “Passengers come with various issues and we resolve them promptly,” she explained.
Aarthi Ramatarak, chief ticket inspector (CTI), who has been working at the station for three years, said, “Women officers here work round the clock and meet all targets on par with male counterparts. Earlier, the number of ticketless travellers was high, but we have brought it down significantly.” She also pointed out that sometimes drunk individuals create disturbances at the station, but women railway protection force (RPF) officers handle such situations swiftly and firmly.
Pallavi Mallik, chief booking supervisor, described the team as a family. “We run the station smoothly and maintain a friendly relationship with passengers,” she said. Begumpet station, soon to be officially declared an all-women-operated station, is also expected to see an increase in train stoppages and passenger footfall as part of its ongoing upgrade.
SCR has nearly 70,000 women employees, contributing to the nationwide total of 1.3 lakh women in Indian Railways. Along with Begumpet, Vidyanagar and Gundlapochampalli stations are also managed entirely by women officers.
