The ambitious Water Metro Service of the Kerala government, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will have 30 Kudumbashree members employed in its housekeeping and ticketing sections. Kudumbashree said 18 of its members have joined the ticketing section of the Water Metro while 12 are with the housekeeping section. Kochi Water Metro service began commercial operations on Wednesday.

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There are a total of 74 staff currently employed in the newly inaugurated Water Metro Service.

"Thirty of the staff appointed for housekeeping and ticketing are from the women self-help group, Kudumbashree... More women will be employed when the need arises. Women from neighbourhood groups of Kochi East, South, Mulavukad and Elamkunnapuzha regions have got placements," Kudumbashree said in a statement.

The women got the opportunity through Kudumbashree Initiative for Business Solutions (KIBS) society, formed to provide jobs to women based on their educational qualifications.

Kudumbashree, a key factor in empowering women in Kerala, said currently through KIBS, 262 women are employed at Vyttila mobility hub, the Industries department and the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA).

It also said that there are 555 women from Kudumbashree Mission at the 24 stations of Kochi Metro Rail performing various duties in housekeeping, ticketing, customer care services, help desk, gardening, kitchen and canteen among other services.

Launched as a poverty eradication mission by the state government in 1998 to wipe out poverty through community action, Kudumbashree has tried its hand in various fields, ranging from pickle-making to IT business to empowering women households in the state.

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