Akanksha becomes Coal India's first woman engineer to work in underground mine

Akanksha Kumari has become Coal India's first woman mining engineer to work in an underground mine, Coal India Ltd’s (CIL) arm Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) said on Tuesday.

She is the second woman mining engineer in the Maharatna conglomerate CIL, and the first one to join CCL at its Churi underground mines in North Karanpura area in Jharkhand.

A CCL statement said, "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.

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 and developed a natural inquisitiveness towards mines since childhood, which led her to opt for mining engineering at BIT Sindri in Dhanbad.

Before joining CCL, she had worked for three years in Hindustan Zinc Limited's Balaria mines in Rajasthan, the statement said.

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"She credits her family for their 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 Minister Prahlad Joshi; CMD, CCL PM Prasad along with all directors and the CCL family congratulated her.

In April this year, Sandhya Rasakatla made history when she was appointed the first-ever woman underground mine manager by Hindustan Zinc, one of the largest producers of Zinc-Lead and Silver.

(Disclaimer: Additional information has been added to this PTI copy for context)