Six transgender staff hired at Noida Metro's Pride Station. The Sector 50 Metro station was recently renamed as Pride Station.
Breaking new ground in gender justice, the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) has rechristened one of its Aqua Line stations as 'Pride Station' and dedicated the station to the transgender community. The station that has been renamed is Sector 50. The station will now be known as the Pride Station.
In another novel gesture, the NMRC has also hired six transgender staff. While four of them are for ticketing, two belong to the housekeeping department. They are Mahi Gupta, Panya Pawar, Kajal Kashyap, Shanu, Pawan, and Kunal Mohar.
Ritu Maheshwari, managing director of NMRC, said that the decision is aimed at inclusive development.
"With the Pride Station, NMRC feels extremely proud to have qualified members of the transgender community as part of its NMRC family," she said.
The NMRC had earlier named two stations -- Sector 51 and Pari Chowk as Pink Stations.
The NMRC said that its decision was inspired by the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. The act was passed by the Parliament last year.
According to NMRC, it had earlier thought of renaming the station as 'Rainbow'. But it zeroed in on Pride after suggestions from the public and NGOs working for the transgender community.
The NMRC operates the metro service between Noida and Greater Noida, covering nearly 30 km.
Earlier in 2017, the Kochi Metro Rail Limited had taken a similar step by employing 23 transgenders.
