Free bus service for women in Chitral hailed

Shahzada Sirajul Mulk[/caption] Launched by retired PIA pilot and tourist hotel owner Shahzada Sirajul Mulk, the `Family Bus Service` is very popular among the people as it has relieved them of high taxi fares. The comfortable bus picks up women and children from designated places close to their houses and drops them off at the hospital before taking them back at designated time. No male members are allowed to embark the bus without family. The people pointing out another benefit of the service said men didn`t need to accompany female and minor family members to the hospital as the bus was reserved for women and children and no male was allowed entry without family. Fazli Qadir of Singoor, a beneficiary of the service, said he worked as porter in the bazaar on daily wage and it was pleasant for him to note that he went to workplace as usual on the day of the week when his newborn child was vaccinated as his wife took the baby to the hospital on the bus. “In the past, I used to go to the hospital with my wife or children missing daily wage on one hand and spending Rs600 as taxi fare on the other to my misery,” he said, adding that the poor people heaved a sigh of relief after the launch of the free bus service. He said there was no intra-city public transport service leaving commuters at the mercy of taxi drivers, who fleeced them when men took their women and children to the hospital for check-up from different parts of the town. Mr Mulk said there was much to be done for the welfare of the poor residents of the city and that one of his project`s objectives was to motivate the affluent people to come forward and work for the people`s welfare. He said the societies where charity gained currency had strong footings and that high level of poverty in Chitral suggested that the rich people should help provide the best possible health services to the people.–Zahirudin]]>