Ranchi: Akanksha Kumari has become Coal India’s first woman mining engineer to work in an underground mine. This information was given by CIL’s arm CCL said Tuesday. Akanksha Kumari is the second woman mining engineer in the Maharatna conglomerate Coal India Ltd (CIL). She is also the first to join Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) at its Churi underground mines in North Karanpura area in Jharkhand.
“Akanksha Kumari became the first woman mining engineer to join CCL. Our woman employees have been shouldering responsibilities ranging from officers to doctors to security guards and even running heavy machines like dumper and shovel and have excelled in each role. “However, this is the first time when the core mining activity of one of the biggest coal mining companies of the world will witness this progressive change. Akanksha is the first one to work in an underground coal mine,” the CCL said in a statement.
A resident of Barkagaon in Hazaribagh district, Akanksha had done her schooling from Navodaya Vidyalaya. Belonging to a mining belt, Akanksha had witnessed coal mining activities from close quarters. She developed a natural inquisitiveness towards mines since childhood, which led her to opt for mining engineering at BIT Sindri in Dhanbad.
Before joining CCL, Akanksha had worked for three years in Hindustan Zinc Limited’s Balaria mines in Rajasthan, the statement said.
“Akanksha credits her family for unflinching support to follow her dreams. She said joining Coal India Limited was the fulfillment of her childhood dream and hopes to deliver her best for the company,” the statement added.
Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi has congratulated Akanksha for her feat. Joshi said that Akanksha’s achievement is the true example of progressive governance to promote gender equality and generate more opportunities by the present government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi by allowing women to work in underground coal mines.