Prayagraj: Making rural women self-reliant and empowered, women associated with Self-Help Group (SHG) are all set to explore new avenues as ‘Safar Sakhis’ in Sangam city under the National Rural Livelihood Mission.In Prayagraj, women associated with rural based Self-Help Groups (SHGs) will now handle the task of booking online tickets for railways, road transport (state buses), and airlines and will be called as ‘Safar Sakhis’.Shama Singh, Deputy Commissioner, National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), said, “10 women from Self-Help Groups will be selected under this scheme, with the first phase already seeing the selection of five women. They will receive training on all the nuances of ticket booking.”The selected rural women will operate similarly to tour operator companies, assisting villagers in booking tickets for trains, buses, and flights via online platforms.These women, chosen as ‘Safar Sakhis’, will be provided with facilities such as laptops, computers, and internet connections at offices located within their villages.They will prove particularly helpful to elderly villagers and tourists embarking on pilgrimages. In addition to ticket booking, they will coordinate with local hotels to arrange accommodation—such as hotels, homestays, or resorts—for pilgrims and tourists. The primary objective of this initiative is to strengthen the economic status of rural women and make travel-related services easily accessible to people at the local level.Under this system, a ‘Safar Sakhi’ will earn a commission ranging from 1% to 8% on bus and train ticket bookings. Income will also be generated through fees of Rs 80 to Rs 200 for flight bookings and through transactions involving holiday packages.A ‘Safar Sakhi’ can earn between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000 per month in this role. Rural and agri-tourism are expanding rapidly across the state. In light of this, ‘Safar Sakhis’ will also serve as tourism ambassadors for rural areas within the district. Eventually, they will be entrusted with the responsibility of cab coordination, for which they will be linked with local transport operators.
