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Painted in pink, the ‘She Auto’ is an instant hit among the people in Pathanamthitta, Kerela. A. Sureshkumar, municipal chairman is the brain behind the woman empowerment programme.

Taking an indication from the She taxi scheme of the Welfare Department, the civic body had introduced the ‘She Auto’ scheme a month ago.

The municipality has sanctioned 12 ‘She Auto’ out of which five has already hit the road. The other seven beneficiaries are undergoing driving classes and vehicles will be allotted to them as soon as they qualify the driving test, says the civic body chief.

“A majority of our customers are women and we earn a profit of Rs.650 to Rs.750 a day,” say Sindhu, Lonamma and Sathi Muraleedharan, She Auto drivers. Suchitra and Rajalakshmi are the other two She Auto drivers in the town.

The municipality has provided subsidy to the tune of Rs.60, 000 each to the beneficiaries belonging to Scheduled Castes sections and Rs.40,000 to those in the general category. The civic body has also arranged vehicle loan to all the 12 beneficiaries through UCO Bank.
(courtesy-The Hindu)