Woman appointed '108' ambulance driver in TN; govt says first in India
M Veeralakshmi was appointed driver of one of the newly launched '108' ambulances in Tamil Nadu.
A woman was appointed as an '108' ambulance driver in Tamil Nadu, claimed to be the first in the country, as Chief Minister K Palaniswami flagged off 118 vehicles as part of an initiative to strengthen emergency services in the state.
K Palaniswami, Chief Minister, Tamil Nadu
M Veeralakshmi was appointed driver of one of the newly launched '108' ambulances and it is a 'first' in the country, a government release said.
Ninety ambulances equipped with life saving medical equipment, 10 high tech vehicles for use by 10 government blood banks for transporting blood collected in camps and 18 ambulances donated by an entertainment television channel group for anti-COVID tasks were flagged off.
On March 24, Palaniswami had announced in the Assembly that to further strengthen the 108 ambulance emergency services, 500 new ambulances would be dedicated to the state at a cost of about Rs 125 crore.
To implement it, in the first phase, 90 ambulances and 10 blood collection vehicles at an estimated cost of Rs 20.65 crore and Rs 3.09 crore respectively were procured.
Marking distribution of appointment orders to 138 recruits in the Public Health and Preventive Medicine department, Palaniswami gave away the orders to seven of them.
While occupation like driving may be considered unconventional, women getting behind the steering wheel has become commonplace.
In 2017, a group of 19 women including Chaya Mohite made headlines as one of the first women auto rickshaw drivers in Mumbai.
The record for first female rickshaw driver in the country goes back to 1988 when Shila Dawre took to the streets riding black and yellow-colored three-wheeler for 13 years till 2001. A pioneer in her own right, the feat also earned Shila a mention in the Limca Book of World Records.
(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)