After Mumbai, LGBTs in Pune to be trained to drive radio cabs

Wings Travels Management Ltd who have been training Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender LGBT cab drivers in Mumbai have plans to kickstart a similar project in Pune tooAfter a recent meeting with LGBT members in Pune the company came to know that LGBTs in Pune donrsquot have a driving licence as there is no column of lsquoothersrsquo in the gender section When this issue was conveyed by the reporter and also by the travel management to the Pune Regional Transport Office RTO within two hours the online portal was corrected and the gender column other was includedRepresentational picA Punebased LGBT member Payal alias Rajendra Khalade 26 a resident of Shivdharshan society in Sahakar Nagar speaking on the issue said ldquoWe too are Indian and we also have equal rights The Supreme Court has given us certain guidelines but still the government is sleeping No budget or nothing for us We too want to see lsquoache dinrsquo From two years I am struggling with RTO Pune to get my driving license for my twowheeler but there is no gender option for us I had approached the RTO agent too but that hasnrsquot helpedrdquoKhalade added ldquoAll documents that I have mentions about the other gender but RTO Pune did not have it My agent suggested I opt for male or female but I thought its illegal as my Aadhar card and voting card has lsquotransgenderrsquo written on it Many times cops catch us for driving without licence but when we inform them about our problem they say that they too cannot help usrdquoShe added ldquoWe do not want to beg from people We too want to take up studies and pick up jobs like others Thus we welcome the Wings radio cabs as we are tied of begging for money from people by clapping On Thursday we had a meeting with Wings and they have assured us of training When we pointed out about the gender column they assured us help in that toordquoManasi Manikrao Thorat 25 holds a bachelorrsquos degree in Arts from Savitribai Phule Pune University and also completed a Diploma in Education She recalls ldquoDespite finishing with first class in education I am jobless I wanted to be a teacher but various schools in Pune denied giving me a job on security issues They would also crack rude jokes like one that the children will become like me or that I will molest the children Later I took tuitions but that too did not last long I also tried my hand at making papad and pickle but no one took stuff from us Instead they used to sexually abuse usrdquoShe added ldquoI too want to have a dignified job but societyrsquos acceptance is not too high I was even ready to drive auto or cab but the gender issue was again a hindrance I have no other option but to beg or collect money from street vendors as I had to take care of my motherrsquos medical expenses who is suffering from heart issues Daily I earn Rs 300 to Rs 350 but in rainy season and summer things are worst Why canrsquot government give us a job quota as we wellrdquoAshok Bhandula Chief Operative Officer at Wings Travel said ldquoAfter the successful experiment in Mumbai we plan to commence the project on similar lines in Pune My team and operation members had a meeting with the LGBT community and they came across these facts We initially approached RTO Mumbai and later Pune They assured us help and the changes have been donerdquoHe added ldquoThe other issue we are facing is that according to RTO norms a Transport Driver TR licence requires a person to have 18 months experience We are negotiating with RTO Mumbai on this note toordquoWhen contacted Pune Regional Transport Officer Jitendra Patil said ldquoI was not aware about such things transgender issues as they never came up before me I will direct all my officers to accept their forms personally In the meantime our licence forms are online We will approach the National Informative Centre NIC to make required changesrdquoThe reported called Patil back after some time and was informed that the changes had been implemented online