Jangam Poornima first woman to get heavy vehicle driving licence

Tirupati: Breaking the shackles of taboos, Jangam Poornima, a young engineering graduate, became the first woman in Chittoor district to get a heavy vehicle driving licence.

Poornima joined the 40-day rigorous training course offered by the State run APSRTC to obtain the heavy vehicle licence. She was the only woman among the 15 candidates who underwent training. She obtained the licence after attending a test conducted by the RTA on completion of the training. The APSRTC in an effort to provide more qualified heavy vehicle drivers launched a 40-day training programme last year. The Tirupati region has so far completed training for two batches and a total of 35 candidates. Speaking after handing over the licence in his office to Poornima, Regional Manager T Chengal Reddy said that Poornima is the first woman in Chittoor district to get heavy vehicle licence and he congratulated her for her rare achievement which he said would go a long a way in boosting the morale of women and proving that they are in no way inferior to men and capable of taking up any tough tasks on par with their male counterparts.

He said there is a big demand for the candidates with heavy vehicle driving licences to work in transport corporations and also in the private sector. Poornima, coming from a socially backward community and a poor family, said that she took up the training as a challenge to enhance the opportunities of employability.

"My father is working as security guard in SVIMS and my mother who has recently joined as health secretary in a ward secretariat in the city has all along been encouraging me to shine in education,'' she added.

She said that she is interested in mechanical engineering in which she graduated and eagerly looks for an executive position in the transport sector to prove her mettle.