There was a fair degree of excitement at Kasturi Chowk in Ganesh Peth on Saturday: 20 rickshaw wallas decided to give honorary services to drop women to their workplaces with their meters off. The Saavkaash Rickshaw Sangathan, a union of 20 rickshaw drivers, rolled out the special six-hour concession drive day from 10 a.m. Pradeep Balerao, president of the committee, said: "As citizens, we need to show what we can do for women, as they are the ones who can bring about a transformation in our society. We are doing what we can to acknowledge their spirit and contribution to the city. I feel it is an honour".

The fuel requirement for the day came from the committee's savings. "We are voluntarily sponsoring the whole event. What we have saved from our programmes that we have conducted throughout the year, we are using to fund the initiative today," said Balerao. The complimentary services of Saavkaash rickshaws covered Swar Gate, Shivaji Nagar, Station road, Deccan and Camp areas and dropped women to wherever they wanted to within the 4 km radius.

BJP city unit chief and MLA Girish Bapat flagged off the first rickshaw at Kasturi Chowk, which took passenger Neelima Agnihotri to Kasba Peth.

"I am touched by the initiative taken by the committee. I thank them and hope the society continues to value us the same way," Neelima said.