MLA Bhawna Bohra's free 'Bus Wali Didi' service for college girls reaches Baiga villages

A free bus service for women college students started by Pandariya MLA Bhawna Bohra in Chhattisgarh's Kabirdham district reached the Kui-Kukdur area, home to Baiga tribal communities, on Monday, October 12, 2026. The service, known locally as "Bus Wali Didi", is planned to run 10 buses across the Pandariya assembly constituency to take young women from villages to their colleges without charge. State Cabinet Minister Tank Ram Verma attended the event, where development projects worth about Rs 6 crore were also launched, and singled out the bus service as the most important scheme of the day for female students.

For a young woman in a forest village, getting to college is often the hardest part of getting a degree. Reports on the scheme point to the distance to college, the cost of travel and parents' worries as the problems it is meant to solve. A free, dedicated bus addresses all of these at once: it removes the fare, sets a fixed route and timing, and gives parents more confidence that their daughters will travel safely.

Reaching Baiga tribal villages matters in particular. A service that comes all the way to remote villages, rather than stopping at the nearest town, is what makes college reachable for girls who live furthest away.

The initiative also shows how a local legislator can use her position to solve a specific, practical problem for women in her constituency. Women's leadership is often discussed in terms of national firsts and top posts, but much of its impact is felt at this level, where a representative identifies a gap, such as transport to college, and pushes for a concrete fix. If the buses run reliably and enrolment rises, the model could be copied by other constituencies in Chhattisgarh and beyond.

The real test will be sustainability. Ten buses need drivers, fuel, maintenance and a steady budget. Reports so far do not say how the service is funded over the long term, or how many students are using it.

Short-term: Young women in Kui-Kukdur and nearby villages can now travel free to their colleges, reducing daily costs and travel worries for families.

Long-term: If sustained, regular free transport could raise college enrolment and completion among girls from remote and tribal areas in the constituency.

Who is affected: Female college students and their families in Pandariya constituency, especially in Baiga tribal villages, local colleges, and other legislators looking at similar schemes.

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