Guwahati Railway Station in Assam has become the first railway station to open a tea stall run by transgender people.

The tea stall was opened by the Northeast Frontier Railway in collaboration with the All Assam Transgender Association.

The stall was inaugurated by Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) general manager Anshul Gupta, who lauded the efforts by the Central government to empower the transgender community.

“This is the first such initiative by any Central government organisation and the first of our steps toward empowering the transgender community by providing them livelihood options,” he was quoted by news reports as saying.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared the picture of the newly-opened stall on his Twitter handle recently.

Reports also added that more such stalls would be opened at other railway stations in the zone. The measure comes under the Central scheme for the comprehensive rehabilitation and welfare of transgender persons.